On 22.08.2024, on the Black Sea, in Romanian territorial waters, under the coordination of the Frontex Agency, a complex maritime exercise took place, as part of the "Multipurpose Maritime Operation in the Black Sea - MMO Western Black Sea 2025" operation, focused on various search, rescue and detection scenarios of marine pollution.
Thus, on the occasion of this Multipurpose Maritime Exercise (MME), a field visit was held by a delegation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), led by Mr. Lars GERDES, Deputy Executive Director and the Inspector General of the PFR, Mr. Chief Police Quaestor Cornel Laurian STOICA. Also present were members of the Member States and of the European agencies EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency), EFCA (European Fisheries Control Agency) and EUSPA (European Union Agency for the Space Programme).
The exercise was attended byfour boatsfrom the Coast Guard, a Maltese authorities ship, SAR boats from the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM), teams from the Special Brigade of the Romanian Gendarmerie and the Romanian Intelligence Service, as well as other authorities with search and rescue responsibilities or maritime administration and coordination in the Black Sea.
The activities within the exercise were carried out on several scenarios, the main ones consisting of approaching a hostile ship holding hostages on board, detecting, identifying and detaining a fishing boat with migrants, as well as executing the missions of approaching the two ships, rescuing people in danger and transporting them to a designated location in order to carry out the specific procedures in this case.
The exercise also consisted of performing a simulation of maneuvers to neutralize drifting marine mines, as well as performing procedures for detecting marine pollution and for clean-up intervention.
MMO Westen Black Sea 2025 has as its general objective to increase the degree of coordination and cooperation between all actors involved in activities to ensure security and safety in the maritime domain, response to maritime accidents or disasters, search and rescue operations, as well as improving the capacity to save lives at sea, but also testing new light technical equipment by the authorities in the real environment and collecting feedback for possible future improvements.
The Romanian Border Police hosts such an operation annually, with the main objective of exercising and consolidating the duties under the responsibility of the Coast Guard structures. In this context, the activities carried out aim to:
- Maritime border surveillance, including search and rescue (SAR) support;
- Improving coordination and cooperation between all participants,
- Preventing and combating illegal migration and cross-border crime;
- Fisheries control through joint surveillance and verifications following the EFCA Joint Deployment Plan for the Black Sea;
- Protection of the marine and coastal environment.
The exercise was not limited to achieving its main objective - namely the training and training of forces in order to acquire a response capacity in line with the highest European and international standards - but also constituted a relevant opportunity to demonstrate the high level of operational flexibility and adaptability of the structures involved. At the same time, the activity highlighted the functionality of institutional cooperation mechanisms, manifested through efficient coordination between European agencies and Romanian authorities, but also through a coherent integration of national forces and capabilities, which confirms the solidity of partnerships and Romania's firm commitment to strengthening collective security.
At the same time, the "Joint Multipurpose Maritime Operation in Black Sea 2025", in which Romanian border guards took part, is funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Frontex Agency, in cooperation with the European bodies EFCA, EMSA and EUSPA.
