High North News

Arctic Coast Guard Forum creates a new working group on maritime security

Astri Edvardsen
arctic coast guard forum maritime security working groups

In late September, the seven Western Arctic countries met in the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) to discuss how they can address the changes in the region in terms of security and preparedness.

"The Arctic is evolving in ways that increasingly link traditional coast guard services with broader maritime security considerations," states the Joint Arctic Command in Denmark, which is leading the forum in 2026.

At the meeting, the countries agreed to expand the work of the forum by establishing a new working group on maritime security. It will focus on emerging challenges, bring together experts and explore new practical approaches to address changes in the region. This work will initially be led by the Canadian Coast Guard.

The ACGF was established in 2015 to foster safe, secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic. The cooperation focuses particularly on search and rescue, environmental protection measures, and assistance in the event of major maritime incidents.

ALSO READ: The Norwegian Coast Guard on Comprehensive Operation to Strengthen Arctic Cooperation

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  • PST urges public to report suspicious activity along Norway's coast

    Linn Ophaug

    The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has registered growing interest from state threat actors in Norway's coastal and maritime areas.

    "We are seeing very significant interest in the Arctic and the High North from a number of countries. This mainly concerns Russia, but also China," Jon Fitje Hoffmann, director at PST, tild the norwegian broadcaster NRK.

    According to Hoffmann, Russia is seeking to map Norwegian ports, communications cables, ans the thousands of kilometres of oil and gas pipelines on the seabed.

    He said this could be part of general intelligence gathering, but could also serve as preparation for potential acts of sabotage.

    PST is now urging the public to report unusual activity, including incidents that fall outside the normal pattern and people or vessels behaving suspiciously.

    PST also advises individuals and businesses to be alert to unexplained friend requests on social media.

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