EU border agency Frontex and Romanian authorities held a two-day Maritime Multipurpose Exercise in the western Black Sea on 13–14 August, bringing together EU agencies and national services involved in border control, maritime safety, fisheries control and maritime security.
The exercise, known as MME Tomis 2026, involved Frontex alongside the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), and was hosted by Romania, Frontex informed on Tuesday.
“Security at sea always depends on the ability to work together,” said Dr Lars Gerdes, Frontex’s Deputy Executive Director for Operations, at the opening ceremony.
The first day centred on briefings and working sessions with representatives from EU agencies, institutions and participating countries.
The second day featured tactical scenarios designed to test how units coordinate during maritime incidents linked to coast guard tasks, including preventing and combatting illegal migration by sea and carrying out search and rescue operations.
Ships, helicopters and simulated incidents
The scenarios also included responses to threats posed by unmanned surface vehicles — remotely operated vessels, Frontex informed.
Simulated interventions were also carried out for marine pollution and fisheries controls.
Assets taking part included ships from the Romanian and Bulgarian border police and the Romanian naval forces, as well as helicopters from the Romanian General Inspectorate of Aviation.
Representatives and resources from the Romanian Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Romanian Naval Authority were also involved.
Senior officials present included Romania’s state secretary Bogdan Despescu, Romanian Border Police general inspector Cornel-Laurian Stoica, Frontex contingent commander Paul Muckian and Dr Gerdes.
MME Tomis 2026 formed part of the Multipurpose Maritime Operation Western Black Sea 2026, a wider operational framework led by Frontex with EFCA and EMSA involved.
More than 250 Frontex officers are currently deployed in Romania.
