Multipurpose Maritime Operation concerning coast guard functions to commence in the Baltic Sea

This summer marks the fourth consecutive year the Finnish Border Guard will participate in the Multipurpose Maritime Operation (MMO) in the Baltic Sea organised in cooperation with the EU agencies EMSA, Frontex and EFCA, the operation brings together several EU Member States with a Baltic Sea coastline to implement coast guard functions with enhanced agency support. The operation runs until the end of October.

The Border Guard acts as the national contact point in Finland and coordinates the participation of other Finnish authorities. In addition to the Border Guard, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom participates in the operation in terms of merchant vessel inspections, and the Southwest Finland Economic Development Centre, together with the Government of Åland, participate in the operation in terms of fisheries control.

One of the Border Guard’s goals for this operation is to develop European and regional cooperation concerning coast guard functions. Within the framework of the operation, we can also combine the services provided by EU agencies with our national capabilities. The services provided by the EU agencies consist of, inter alia, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems and other surveillance systems and satellite services that are used in enhancing maritime situational awareness.

The Baltic Sea is shallow, narrow and one of the most heavily trafficked sea areas in the world. The risk of a maritime accident is high due to the shadow fleet, the prevalent GNSS-jamming and spoofing of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions. Active cooperation helps with risk management. European Multipurpose Maritime Operations have been implemented in the Baltic Sea since 2023.

EMSA is the European Maritime Safety Agency. Frontex is the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. EFCA is the European Fisheries Control Agency.

Coast guard functions (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1222) refer to the following maritime measures of public authorities (a) maritime safety, including vessel traffic management; (b) ship casualty and maritime assistance service; (c) fisheries inspection and control; (d) maritime border control; (e) maritime environmental protection and response; (f) prevention and suppression of trafficking and smuggling and connected maritime law enforcement; (g) maritime search and rescue; (h) maritime monitoring and surveillance; (i) maritime customs activities; (j) maritime accident and disaster response; (k) maritime, ship and port security.