Cospas-Sarsat cooperates with United Nations-affiliated agencies, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), among other international organizations, to ensure the compatibility of the Cospas-Sarsat distress alerting services with the needs, the standards and the applicable recommendations of the global community. Cospas-Sarsat is an element of the IMO's Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS), and is expected to become a component of ICAO's Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS). The IMO requires automatic-activating Cospas-Sarsat beacons (EPIRBs, see below) on all vessels subject to requirements of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (so-called SOLAS-class vessels), commercial fishing vessels, and all passenger ships in international waters. Similarly, ICAO requires Cospas-Sarsat beacons aboard aircraft on international flights. National administrations often impose requirements in addition to the international requirements of those agencies.