The coast guard keeps an eye on the sea

Coast guard

Operation Opera II 2010

For the second time this year, the Coast Guard operation Opera took place from 18 till 29 October in the cold waters of the Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Sea. This operation was organized in the framework of a cooperation agreement among various Coast Guard partners.

It comprises a joint control operation at sea by the Customs’ Maritime Brigade, the Maritime Police (SPN), the Fishery Inspection Service (DVZ), the Management Unit of North Sea Mathematical Models (MUMM), the Directorate-General for the Environment, and also the Ministry of Defense represented by the Maritime Security Centre (MIK) and the support vessel A963 Stern that served as operational platform at sea for the various Coast Guard inspectors.


The aim of this operation is the joint execution of control activities, focusing mainly on fishery activities, MARPOL regulations on board merchant ships, transboundary traffic, and pollution controls in the Belgian EEZ. The observation aircraft of MUMM and a helicopter from the DG Environment flew several patrol flights in order to detect marine pollution from the air.

Several types of vessels were controlled and several offenders received an official statement. Despite the sometimes rough weather conditions, the operation was a success for all parties involved. Again this underlines the importance of joint, co-ordinated maritime controls.