From 23 to 28 May, for the first time, the Navies and Coast Guards of 7 EU Member States, together with European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), will participate in a live maritime security exercise, named MARSEC 24, organised by Spain, off the Cartagena Naval Base located in Murcia, Spain.

The exercise will test the EU’s response capacity to two major maritime threats: an attack to critical undersea infrastructure and illegal fishing in EU waters.

MARSEC 24 will allow EU actors to promote coordination, implement operational procedures and identify lessons for future activities.

The exercise will involve the detection and identification of a maritime security incident by Spanish naval assets, seeking EU cooperation in the preparation and execution of an EU coordinated response aimed at restoring a safe and secure environment. It will also include a test of the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) for the maritime domain, which will be operational soon.

Media Advisory

On 27 May, the representatives of EU bodies and Member States will participate in a demonstration day included in the exercise. Media wishing to attend the demonstration should contact [email protected] with the following details before 25 May at 9:00 am:

• Full name
• Nationality
• ID/Passport
• Date of birth
• Media

The EU Senior Coordinator for maritime security, Alison Weston, will represent the EU.

Background

The EU is moving forward with the implementation of the EU Maritime Security Strategy of October 2023 and its Action Plan. This strategy calls inter alia for the EU to launch an annual maritime security exercise involving naval assets to boost readiness, foster interoperability and tackle the evolving threats to maritime security.

The MARSEC exercise, organised by the Spanish Navy, is designed to promote mutual knowledge and coordination between different actors involved in action at sea by conducting realistic simulation of incidents in various scenarios across the Spanish littoral.

In addition, the MARSEC exercise answers to the EU’s need for joint civil-military and inter-agency exercises to boost preparedness and response capabilities to tackle evolving and growing maritime risks and threats as stated in the EU Maritime Security Strategy.

The Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE) is an EU initiative which aims to make European and EU/EEA Member States surveillance systems interoperable, thus facilitating information exchange between maritime authorities.