The 16th Plenary Meeting of the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum (NACGF) was held in Helsinki on 16-19 October.
The meeting concluded the Finnish Presidency of the Forum and focused on the impact of the development of autonomous systems at sea on coastguard activities.
A report on the work of the Forum’s 7 working groups and a first document on the impact of climate change and the greening of maritime activities on coastguard operations and organizations were presented. Since the explosion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the issue of critical infrastructure protection has also become a priority.
At the end of the meeting, the chairmanship was handed over to the Swedish Coast Guard. The Swedish Coast Guard will continue to develop international cooperation within the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum until 2024.
The theme chosen by the new Swedish presidency is the integration of sustainable development into coastguard operations.
The NACGF is a body that aims to facilitate cooperation in the field of coastguard activities. Established in 2007, it brings together the nineteen countries of the North Atlantic. Members of the Forum are coastguard authorities from the Baltic Sea Region, Western and Southern Europe and North America. Not all countries have a coastguard. For example, the French delegation was led by the Préfecture Maritime de l’Atlantique. Russia is a member but has not been invited since 2014
The European Union agencies EMSA, FRONTEX and EFCA, MAOC-N, Interpol and UNODC are associated with the work of the Forum. The French delegation was led by the Préfecture Maritime de l’Atlantique.
