On 02nd December the SEA BIT 21 exercise took place with the participation of the Maritime Operations Centres (MOC) of the four EUROMARFOR nations (France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) as well as several ships at sea.
SEA BIT 21 is an exercise programmed by the EUROMARFOR Commander (COMEUROMARFOR -ALFLOT) as part of EUROMARFOR (EMF) training program, being conducted in this occasion by the Maritime Action Operations and Surveillance Centre (COVAM), located at the Maritime Action Force Headquarters in Cartagena - Spain.
The aim of SEA BIT exercises is to enhance cooperation between EMF Maritime Operations Centres through the exchange of information in order to ensure a common maritime security awareness (MSA) and promote the legitimate use of the sea.
The exercise was conceived as a Computer Assisted exercise (CPX/ CAX), although it is open to the participation of units of opportunity at sea, which can collaborate with the MOCs, through the exchange of tracks information.
It should be noted that this is the first time, since the creation of the exercise in 2018, that the MARSUR ("Maritime Surveillance") system has been used. The MARSUR initiative began in 2006 as a pilot project of the European Defence Agency (EDA), with the aim of sharing maritime security information between European navies.
In the framework of the EUROMARFOR command rotation schedule, ALFLOT is scheduled to take over the role of COMEUROMARFOR until September 2023.