Swedish Coast Guard

The Swedish Coast Guard (Swedish: Kustbevakningen) is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with:

  • maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea.
  • co-ordinate the civilian needs for maritime surveillance and maritime information.
  • follow international development within the field and take part in international efforts to establish border controls, law enforcement at sea, environmental protection at sea and other maritime surveillance tasks.
See also: Swedish Customs Service
Swedish Coast Guard
Kustbevakningen
KBV coat of arms
Racing stripe
AbbreviationKBV
Agency overview
Formed1988
Preceding agency
  • Generaltullstyrelsen
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionSweden
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
HeadquartersKarlskrona, Blekinge County
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
  • Judith Melin, Director General
Parent agencyMinistry of Justice
Website
www.kustbevakningen.se

The Swedish Coast Guard carries out some of its surveillance by air (from its base at Skavsta Airport south-west of Stockholm), and in the winter-time by hovercraft on the ice-covered waters of the Bothnian Bay from its Luleå station. The Coast Guard also has regular maritime duties in Vänern, Europe's third largest lake, operating out of Vänersborg.

Organization
Headquarters of the Swedish Coast Guard in Karlskrona.

The Coast Guard has 26 coastal stations, including an aviation coastal station. The stations fall under four regional areas; North (KRN), East (KRO), West (KRV) and South (KRS); with the regional headquarters located in Härnösand, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Karlskrona respectively. Four management centers control the daily operational activities and there is also at least one duty officer around the clock. The Coast Guard's central headquarters is located in the historic 17th century naval city of Karlskrona, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The total number of Coast Guard employees across the country amounts to around 800.[1]

Neither Coast Guard ships or officers carry military weapons. Instead each officer is equipped with Glock 17, ASP baton, OC spray and handcuffs.

Coast Guard vessels
Ships of the Swedish Coastguard in Karlskrona

Surveillance Ships
Swedish Coast Guard Multi Purpose Vessel KBV 001 Poseidon

The Coast Guard currently has 22 surveillance craft which are used mainly for patrolling with some also given oil spill response capacity.

Environmental Protection Vessels

The Coast Guard currently has 12 environmental protection vessels primarily used for oil spill response, and secondly for patrolling.

Combination

The Coast Guard currently has nine ships which combine the characteristics of both environmental protection vessels and surveillance craft. KBV 001, KBV 002, KBV 003, KBV 031, KBV 032, KBV 033, KBV 034, KBV 201 and KBV 202.

Hovercraft

The Coast Guard operates five hovercraft mainly in northern Sweden where they can easily travel over both ice, water and land. KBV 593 based in Luleå, KBV 592 based in Umeå, KBV 591 based in Örnsköldsvik, KBV 594 KBV based in Vaxholm, and 595.[2]

Barges

The Coast Guard maintains one large barge, KBV 866 in Härnösand, used for the storage of absorbed oil from spills.[3]

Boats

The Coast Guard currently has over 100 boats. Some boats are used as a complement to larger ships, while others operate as separate entities. The boats are divided into four groups: High Speed/Go Fast, rib-boats, dinghies and work boats.

Personal Equipment

Coast Guard Aviation
Swedish Coast Guard
IATA ICAO Callsign
– KBV Swecoast

The Coast Guard has replaced its CASA C-212s with three new Bombardier Dash 8 Q-300 aircraft numbered KBV 501, 502 and 503. The new Dash 8 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft were modified by Field Aviation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Coast Guard Aviation Home base is Skavsta Airport in Nyköping. Surveillance and reconnaissance flights are conducted along the Swedish coast and Vänern year-round, day and night. Additional regular international assignments are also flown as needed.[4]

Swedish Coast Guard Bombardier Dash 8 Q-300 KBV503
Former CASA C-212 of the Swedish Coast Guard.
Former Cessna 402C in 1981

The division operate their flights as VFR and use VFR flight rules throughout the majority of their flights. Some flights, either operating/ferrying internationally or for longer distances, fly using IFR rules.

Incidents
  • On October 26, 2006 a Swedish Coast Guard CASA 212-200 (registration: SE-IVF/serial nr: KBV 585) crashed in the Falsterbo Canal during a surveillance mission, killing all four on board.[5][6][7] Full article: 2006 Falsterbo Swedish Coast Guard crash

See also

References
  1. "Education and jobs". Kustbevakningen.se. Kustbevakningen. Coast Guard. 2009-04-06 . "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2009-12-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) . 2009-04-06. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2009-12-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Läst 19 november 2009 . Retrieved on 19 November 2009.
  2. http://www.kustbevakningen.se/kbvtemplates/FileList.aspx%3Fid%3D565&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhg7S6X0r_zPuCttM_Z-M7T_dE5jPQ%5B%5D
  3. http://www.kustbevakningen.se/kbvtemplates/FileList.aspx%3Fid%3D566&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhg1jBfeK1DcHcC0gDKHYEuAvD5snQ%5B%5D
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2009-12-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. press release Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine from the Swedish Coast Guard (in Swedish)
  6. Accident description – October 26, 2006 at the Aviation Safety Network Database (in English)
  7. Four dead after coastguard plane crash Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Local, October 26, 2006 (in English)
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