The Caribbean Coast Guard made significant investments last year in the education and training of personnel to develop into an organization capable of operating independently 24 hours a day. Approximately seventy full-time positions will be added later this year. This is stated in the recently published 2024 Annual Report of the Caribbean Coast Guard.
With this expansion, the Coast Guard aims to be continuously deployable, not only in emergencies but also during routine operations. To achieve this, work is underway on the implementation of Intelligence-Led Policing. This approach means that actions will increasingly be based on the timely collection, processing, enhancement, and analysis of information, all within the applicable legal frameworks.
The Ministry of Defence manages and funds the Coast Guard and typically provides support with a stationed vessel in the Caribbean region. However, during the first half of 2024, no stationed ship was available because the Navy was deployed on missions in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The Coast Guard also faced technical and personnel challenges with its cutters, the patrol vessels. Particularly in Aruba, where the cutter Panter operates, this led to a reduction in sailing days. The launch of the replacement program for these vessels was identified last year as one of the most important material projects. Additionally, a project to expand shore radar capacity in the Windward Islands was initiated.
The Caribbean Coast Guard plays a broad role in maritime law enforcement for Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. In addition to search and rescue operations, the organization also conducts investigations and combats human trafficking, drug smuggling, human smuggling, and irregular immigration.
