Europe’s coast guards are preparing for the worst-case scenarios to ensure the best outcomes

Europe’s coast guards face many risks to keep our seas secure and safe. Good coordination in an emergency can mean the difference between life and death. To continuously improve their skills and their efficiency, the guards partake in regular exercises such as COASTEX.

This year's edition, COASTEX-22, took place on September 6th, in Croatia's Brački Kanal. Euronews Reporter Denis Loctier observed this year's exercises.

A distress call over the radio alerts the maritime rescue centres: two vessels have collided near the city of Split, suffering heavy damage. The emergency is life-threatening: witnesses saw at least one crew member fall overboard and vanish into the sea. Civilian search and rescue boats rush to the area, requesting the Navy to provide immediate assistance.

Direct cooperation between state agencies helps coast guards on European seas counter rising threats — both old and new.

While the exercise scenario is fictional, crew members operate as though it were real, as they know this kind of accident can happen at any moment, and they must be prepared.

Surveillance airplanes, speedboats, constant communication via radio - a veritable ballet takes place to conduct the search and rescue of the missing crew member.

Croatia is a magnet for maritime tourism, and coast guards respond to dozens of real incidents of this kind every year.

The country is modernising its coastal patrol fleet, building a series of new vessels. The speedboats used in the exercises are some of the fastest in the Mediterranean Sea. They have been financed with European funding.

Equipped with high-tech cameras with powerful zoom lenses and infrared vision, the Croatian coast guards can now search for people lost at sea even in the dark. Until quite