The maritime police of the Mossos d’Esquadra will this year intensify preventive patrolling throughout the Catalan coast with the addition of two new boats and three more semi-rigid boats from confiscations, and with the forecast of a new call for places to try to give a “quick response” to any incident.
The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the minister of the interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, presented the Summer Plan of the maritime police of the Mossos d’Esquadra in an event held in the port of Barcelona.
In 2022, the maritime area of ??the Mossos, which includes the aquatic unit, carried out more than 3,750 hours of patrolling by boat all over the Catalan coast, of which 285 were in natural maritime spaces. It attended to around 250 services, such as guaranteeing the security of events, inspections or aid and assistance to citizens. In addition, 2,125 hours of surveillance were carried out in ports and 720 hours on beaches.
The maritime police plans to add to its fleet before the end of the year two new boats of 11 and 13 meters in length, respectively, which come from the Department of Climate Action, as well as three semi-rigid ones judicially confiscated and which are currently being assessed by engineers in order to be able to make the necessary adaptations.
There is also a new call for vacancies before the end of the year to increase the workforce of the Mossos d’Esquadra in the maritime sector with the aim of opening a new base in the port of Barcelona and reinforcing the existing ones.
At present, this service has 48 officers (32 correspond to the maritime police and 16 are specialized in underwater work), and three boats that were acquired in 2021, and two more pneumatics for tasks in shallow water, two semi-rigid patrol boats and a jet ski from a confiscation.
The maritime police focuses its strategy on proximity, prevention, service to citizens and assistance in the maritime environment, to resolve any incident in the nearly 500 kilometers that make up the Catalan coast.
Among its functions are public safety at sea, surveillance of navigation and events at sea, public order, surveillance of port infrastructures and nautical facilities, maritime rescue, control of activities such as fishing and environmental protection. In addition, it acts as judicial police and administrative police.
