On 02.08.2024, on the Black Sea, in Romanian territorial waters, under the coordination of the Frontex Agency, a complex maritime exercise took place, within the "Multipurpose Maritime Operation in the Black Sea - MMO Western Black Sea 2024", focused on different search and rescue scenarios.
Thus, on the occasion of this multi-purpose maritime exercise (MME), there was a field visit by a delegation of the European Border Police and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), led by Mr. Lars GERDES, Deputy Executive Director and the general inspector of the RBP , Mr. Police Quaestor Cornel Laurian STOICA.
The exercise was attended by four boats from the Coast Guard, one from the Bulgarian Border Police, a SAR boat from the Romanian Agency for Life Saving at Sea (ARSVOM), as well as other authorities with search and rescue responsibilities or of maritime administration and coordination in the Black Sea.
The activities within the exercise consisted in the detection, identification and detention, with the support of the naval mobility means involved, of a vessel carrying illegal migrants on board, the execution of a mission to approach the vessel, the rescue of persons in danger and their transport to a location established in order to carry out the specific procedures in this case.
JO MMO Westen Black Sea 2024 has the general objective of increasing the degree of coordination and cooperation between all actors involved in activities to ensure security and safety in the maritime field, response in cases of maritime accidents or disasters, search and rescue operations, as well as improving the ability to save lives at sea, but also the testing of new light technical equipment by the authorities in the real environment and the collection of feedback for possible future improvements.
The Romanian Border Police annually hosts such an operation, the main purpose being the implementation of the powers under the responsibility of the Coast Guard structures, as follows:
- 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 checks following the EFCA Joint
- Deployment Plan for the Black Sea,
- Environmental protection.
In addition to successfully achieving the purpose of the exercise, namely the training of the forces to acquire a capacity to respond to the highest standards, the activity also demonstrated flexibility in action as well as a very good cooperation between the European agencies and the Romanian authorities as well as between the forces and the capabilities of the Romanian state authorities.
We mention the fact that, in the 14.04-02.10.2024 period, the Romanian Border Police, through the Coast Guard, together with their counterparts from the Republic of Bulgaria, participate in the maritime operation "Multipurpose Maritime Operation in the Black Sea - MMO Western Black Sea 2024", organized by the European Border Police and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), in cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), carried out in the Black Sea area of competence.
At the same time, the "Joint Multipurpose Maritime Operation in Black Sea 2024", in which the Romanian border police took part, is financed by the European Union and coordinated by the Frontex Agency, in cooperation with the European bodies EFCA and EMSA.
