Development of an international maritime situational picture is timely

The security situation in the Baltic Sea has changed significantly in recent times, which has increased the need to develop information exchange between EU member states, particularly among the Baltic Sea countries.

A more comprehensive set of data produces a higher-quality maritime situational picture, which benefits the operational activities of the Finnish Border Guard.

In February 2025, the European Commission introduced an action plan to improve the security of underwater cables, aiming to protect critical infrastructure. The plan encourages enhancing data and information exchange between member states. The Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), managed by the European Maritime Safety Agency, is also mentioned in the action plan.

CISE enables data sharing

The Finnish Border Guard has launched the Development of an International Maritime Situational picture 2 project, with the goal of enabling better maritime situational awareness. The objective is to have the CISE node and adaptor in operation for data and information exchange by the end of 2026.

The Finnish Border Guard aims to share and receive operational information and data through CISE related to maritime security in the Baltic Sea, such as vessel history, irregular vessel movements, maritime critical infrastructure or shadow fleet. 

The focus is particularly on data and information exchange with EU member states at Baltic Sea Region, as it is expected to bring the most added value to the Finnish Border Guard’s ability to produce a maritime situational picture. 

More information about CISE:

About CISE - EMSA - European Maritime Safety Agency

CISE Operational Phase - YouTube

External funding for the development of Finland’s international maritime situational picture 

With the European Union participating in the funding, the Development of an International Maritime Situational Picture 2 project is receiving funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. With the EMFF funding, the safety of the seas will be improved by supporting initiatives that increase the maritime area monitoring and ensure sustainable use of these areas.  With 1.4 million euros of EMFF funding, the Finnish Border Guard will plan and build the CISE data exchange environment, through which maritime situational data will be shared with and received from EU member states.