News item | 27-01-2023 | 3:30 pm
The Coast Guard is going to grow. With more staff, the organization is developing into a 24/7 operating institution. This is stated in the Annual Plan 2023 Caribbean Coast Guard that Minister Ollongren of Defense sends to the House.
The Coast Guard is expected to grow from about 265 employees with dozens of full-time jobs in the coming years. The new employees are mainly recruited in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. With the increase in personnel, the Coastguard is strengthening border control, among other things. In addition, the organization will invest in new and existing equipment in the coming year.
Large domain
The Coastguard is an important link in the law enforcement chain of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The Coast Guard operates in collaboration with local, regional and international partners (such as the United States, Colombia and the United Kingdom), which is crucial for deployment in the maritime domain. A sizeable domain: the working area around and on the Windward and Leeward Islands covers approximately 300,000 square kilometres, almost four times the size of the Benelux territory.
Broad range of tasks
In addition to providing services such as search and rescue, the organization is also responsible for investigative and supervisory tasks in the Caribbean. This includes general police tasks, counter-terrorism and border control. Their activities also include combating human smuggling, human trafficking and irregular immigration.
The Coast Guard was particularly successful last year in the fight against drugs, with a considerable amount of drug interceptions. This means that the organization plays an important role in the fight against international undermining.