Swedish Coast Guard

The Swedish Coast Guard is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with:

• maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea
• co-ordinate the civilian needs for maritime surveillance and maritime information
• follow international development within the field and take part in international efforts to establish border controls, law enforcement at sea, environmental protection at sea and other maritime surveillance tasks.

The Swedish Coast Guard carries out some of its surveillance by air (from its base at Skavsta Airport south-west of Stockholm), and in the winter-time by hovercraft on the ice-covered waters of the Bothnian Bay from its Luleå station. The Coast Guard also has regular maritime duties in Vänern, Europe's third largest lake, operating out of Vänersborg.

Surveillance Ships

The Coast Guard currently has 22 surveillance craft which are used mainly for patrolling with some also given oil spill response capacity.

Environmental Protection Vessels

The Coast Guard currently has 12 environmental protection vessels primarily used for oil spill response, and secondly for patrolling.

Combination

The Coast Guard currently has nine ships which combine the characteristics of both environmental protection vessels and surveillance craft. KBV 001, KBV 002, KBV 003, KBV 031, KBV 032, KBV 033, KBV 034, KBV 201 and KBV 202.

Hovercraft

The Coast Guard hoperates five hovercraft mainly in northern Sweden where they can easily travel over both ice, water and land. KBV 593 based in Luleå, KBV 592 based in Umeå, KBV 591 based in Örnsköldsvik, KBV 594 KBV based in Vaxholm, and 595.

Barges

The Coast Guard maintains one large barge, KBV 866 in Härnösand, used for the storage of the absorbed oil.

Boats

The Coast Guard currently has over 100 boats. Some boats are used as a complement to larger ships, while others operate as separate entities. The boats are divided into four groups: High Speed/Go Fast, rib-boats, dinghies and work boats.