Meeting of U.S. and Spanish Coast Guard units under the aegis of the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum.

On July 4, in the waters of the Gulf of Cadiz, an opportunity training exercise was conducted, sponsored by the Spanish Presidency of the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum (NACGF). Led by the Spanish Navy offshore patrol boat ‘Vigía’ (P-73), this training consisted of a series of evolutions and formations with US Coast Guard patrol boats ‘John Sheuerman’ and ‘Clarence Sutphin’ and the ‘Guardia Civil’ (Gendarmerie) Coast Guard vessel ‘Río Arlanza’ with further collaboration of a Spanish Navy helicopter.

On this occasion, the port call of these two US Coast Guard patrol boats in Rota Naval Base (Cádiz) on their way to their deployment area in the Eastern Mediterranean, was used to strengthen ties and exchange expertise and know-how in the performance of their missions and responsibilities as instruments of the State Action at sea.

The NACGF is an informal organization established in 2007 which brings together representatives from North Atlantic countries to enable multilateral cooperation on issues related to combined operations, illegal drug trafficking, maritime security, environmental protection, fisheries protection, illegal migration and search and rescue tasks.

On an annual basis, one of the seventeen member nations takes the rotating chair. This time the forum is commanded by Spain, responsible for organizing the usual events of the forum like the Experts Meeting and the Plenary Meeting (Summit), as well as promoting relations and interactions between the different agencies and organizations that participate in the forum on behalf of their respective nations.

Spain is represented in the forum by the Navy through the Maritime Action Force (FAM in its Spanish initials), although all the national bodies with responsibilities in the actions of the State at sea participate in the forum, like the ’Guardia Civil’, the Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance, the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine, the Maritime SAR and Safety Department, the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, of course, the Spanish Navy.

The Meeting of Experts was held in Cádiz (SW Spain) last May but the Plenary Summit is scheduled to take place in the city of Cartagena (SE Spain) ) between October 17 and 20. For this occasion, the attendance of the highest representatives of the organizations participating in the forum is expected, as well as observers from the main European agencies with responsibilities in the maritime domain.