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• U.S. Embassy Supported Exercise for Georgian Security Partners

  This Joint Maritime Operations Center Table Top Exercise (JMOC TTX) facilitated by DTRA’s International Counterproliferation Program, brought together Georgia’s maritime-oriented interagency on 8-11 August to collaboratively respond to port and coastal security scenarios.

  Members of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S Defense Threat Reduction Agency worked shoulder to shoulder at various locations along Georgia’s Black Sea Coast with Georgian security partners from the Maritime Transport Agency, the Coast Guard, the State Security Service, the Emergency Management Service and other organizations to address maritime security challenges.

  The exercise builds on the JMOC TTX executed in September 2021 and will carry momentum into a JMOC TTX planned in spring 2023.

  Participating agencies will be able to use lessons learned to develop enhanced response procedures and plans. Lessons will also potentially inform national-level maritime security strategy and legislation.

  The JMOC TTX showcases another example of the U.S. government’s long-standing support to the government of Georgia.

  By U.S. Embassy Tbilisi 
• EU and IOM donate fast response boats to Georgia’s coast guard

  On 16 June, the European Union and  the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) donated four modern boats to Georgia’s Coast Guard.

  These rapide response boats with a total cost of around 5 million laris will be deployed in Poti and Batumi. They will support the Coast Guard in patrolling coastal waters and conducting effective search and rescue operations, as well as to enhance interdiction capabilities. 

  The main technical specifications of the boats have been tailored to the needs of the Coast Guard to ensure compatibility with the maritime surveillance equipment and systems already in place in Georgia.

  “Safe and secure borders are key for citizens in Georgia, as in any country. Ensuring security of and around the Black Sea – the physical bridge between the EU and Georgia – is a shared priority for both Georgia and the EU,” said Catalin Gherman, from the EU Delegation to Georgia, during the ceremony in Poti.

  The boats were donated within the project ‘Support to Integrated Border Management in Georgia’, implemented by the IOM in the framework of the EU’s ‘EU4 Security, Accountability and Fight against Crime in Georgia’ (SAFE) programme.

  Find out more

  Press release

• BORDER POLICE LIEUTENANT COMPLETED A ONE-YEAR NAVY OFFICER’S COURSE AT THE BRITANNIA ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE

  Lieutenant Ruslan Dolidze, Senior Inspector of the Boarding Team of the MIA Border Police Coast Guard Department, successfully completed a one-year Navy Officer’s Course at the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC).

  The graduation ceremony, held in Dartmouth, was attended by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

  From the Georgian side, the Director of the Border Police Coast Guard Department, CAPT Ramaz Papidze attended the graduation ceremony. CAPT Papidze congratulated the Coast Guard Officer on the successful completion of the course and wished him success in his career.

  Within the framework of his visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Director of the Coast Guard Department held various working meetings. CAPT Papidze met with the Deputy Commander for NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM), Vice Admiral Didier Piaton, Commander of the Britannia Royal Naval College, CAPT Roger Readwin, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Sophie Katsarava.

• JOINT EXERCISES HELD IN THE BLACK SEA WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE GEORGIAN COAST GUARD SHIPS AND THE USS ARLEIGH BURKE

  The representatives of the MIA Border Police Coast Guard Department and the USS Arleigh Burke crew conducted joint exercises in the Black Sea.

  Three Coast Guard ships OCHAMCHIRE (P23), SOKHUMI (P24) and DIOSKURIA (P25) participated in the exercise.

  During the exercise, the ships performed tactical manoeuvres and worked together to improve various elements.

  The purpose of the joint exercises was to share experiences between two naval units, improve the interaction between the crews and strengthen the MIA Border Police Coast Guard capabilities.

  Source: MIA Border Police

• THE MIA BORDER POLICE COAST GUARD EXPOSED THE VIOLATION OF NAVIGATION RULES

  The officers of MIA Border Police Coast Guard Department detained Vessel HONG FA SHANG HAI, a cargo ship sailing under the flag of China in the Georgian territorial waters, for violating the rules of navigation.

  The captain of the ship, who is a Chinese citizen, was charged by the Operative-Investigation Main Division of the Border Police for violating the rules of navigation per Article 114, Part 1, Paragraph 1, Sub-paragraph “T” of the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia.

  The captain of the ship was fined 50,000 GEL. After paying the fine, the ship was allowed to sail freely.