The 2025 North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum (NACGF) Summit took place from October 13 to 16 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Legal aspects
The first agenda item was to approach the tools or systems we have available from a legal perspective.
This included reflection on the so-called shadow fleet, a network of ships or vessels that use cloak-and-dagger tactics to avoid sanctions, circumvent safety or environmental regulations, evade insurance costs, or engage in other illegal activities.
Professor Kristina Siig (Professor of Maritime Law and Law of the Sea, University of Southern Denmark) emphasized the importance of the principle of “innocent passage.” The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stipulates that innocent passage of ships through territorial waters must be permitted as long as they do not threaten the peace, order, or security of the coastal state concerned.
Several recent maritime incidents were also analyzed. What legislation applied? And, above all, how can we better anticipate and respond in the future?
Feedback from working groups
On a more operational and technical level, the Summit regularly provides feedback from the chairs of the various expert groups. These groups met in Aalborg, Denmark, in May 2025 and reported on the most important findings, new techniques, and trends.
The approach to recent incidents such as those involving the Solong and the Stena Immaculate, and the MSC Baltic III, were also discussed in more detail.

Danish expertise
Denmark has several systems that it integrates to obtain the most comprehensive picture possible of activities above its waters. Its long-term vision is supported by systematic training of all coastguard personnel, enabling them to work smoothly with European data systems. Since the launch of this initiative in 2017, more than 600 employees have been trained. Denmark uses, among other things, the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) service of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and has developed its own manual for its operational use.
Last year, several saildrones were also tested in Danish waters. Four drones were deployed simultaneously and controlled by a single operator on shore. They proved exceptionally resilient to the unpredictable weather conditions and even withstood a Category 5 hurricane. This project, carried out by a private company, is a prime example of successful collaboration between government and industry, aimed at knowledge building and market exploration.

Collaboration and transfer
In addition, all participating Member States collaborated last year on a thematic paper on “Safety and Security in Windmill Parks.” Belgium also has experience in this area and contributed to the project.
Finally, during the closing session, the presidency of the NACGF was officially handed over to Iceland.

The Scientific Service “Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM)” of the Institute of Natural Sciences is a partner in the Belgian Coast Guard cooperation and is closely following the developments discussed during the NACGF Summit.