The Swedish Coast Guard () is a Swedish civilian

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

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 Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

at sea and other maritime surveillance tasks. The Swedish Coast Guard carries out some of its surveillance by air (from its base at Skavsta Airport south-west of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

), and in the winter-time by

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

and

snowmobiles A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

on the ice-covered waters of the

Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and ...

from its

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

station. The Coast Guard also has regular maritime duties in

Vänern Vänern ( , , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake in Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland in the sou ...

, Europe's third largest lake, operating out of

Vänersborg Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...

Organization

The Coast Guard has 26 coastal stations, including an aviation coastal station. The stations fall under four regional areas; with the regional headquarters located in

Härnösand Härnösand () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 25,012 inhabitants in 2023. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

respectively. The four management centers control the daily operational activities. The national operational control is co-located with the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration () is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied on commercial shippin ...

, which is responsible for the Swedish Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC), and the

Swedish navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

at Kärringberget navalbase in Gothenburg. The Coast Guard's central headquarters is located in the historic 17th century naval city of Karlskrona, which is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The total number of Coast Guard employees across the country amounts to around 800. Neither Coast Guard ships or officers carry military weapons. Instead each officer is equipped with a

Glock 17 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...

, ASP baton, OC spray and handcuffs.

Coast Guard vessels

Multipurpose ships

The Coast Guard currently has 10 ships which combine the characteristics of both environmental protection vessels and surveillance ships, as well as emergency tow ships.

Maritime surveillance ships

The Coast Guard currently has 16 maritime surveillance ships which are used mainly for patrolling with some also given oil spill response capacity.

Environmental protection vessels

The Coast Guard currently has 5 environmental protection vessels primarily used for oil spill response, and secondly for patrolling.

Hovercraft

The Coast Guard operates five

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.

Barges

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

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 A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

and work boats.

Personal equipment

Gen 3 9×19mm pistol

Coast Guard aviation

The Coast Guard has three

Bombardier Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Lon ...

Q-300 aircraft numbered KBV 501, 502 and 503. The Dash 8 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft were modified by Field Aviation in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. The Coast Guard Aviation Home base is Skavsta Airport in

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

. Surveillance and reconnaissance flights are conducted along the Swedish coast and

year-round, day and night. Additional regular international assignments are also flown as needed. 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.Four dead after coastguard plane crash
, The Local, October 26, 2006 Full article: 2006 Falsterbo Swedish Coast Guard crash

References

External links

Swedish Coast Guard
– official website (some English) {{authority control 1988 establishments in Sweden Coast guards Defence agencies of Sweden

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

Border guards

Borders of Sweden Emergency services in Sweden