12
security function. However, these services only in
the United States and Canada are named as Coast
Guard [www.uscg.mil.]. In the Member States of the
EU, there exist different names of the national mari-
time security services, such as: Border Guard, Mari-
time Police, Maritime and Coast Guard Agency
(MCA) [www.mcga.gov.uk.] and many others. Also
the scope of tasks that realize these services differ
considerably in the each particular Member States of
the EU. The above is the result of the historical tra-
dition of the development of these services. The Eu-
ropean Union considers that the above situation is
not favorable for the closer cooperation of the secu-
rity services of the Member States of the EU. There-
fore, the European Union tries to unify these ser-
vices, i.e. to unify not only their names but also the
scopes of the competences of these services.
[ec.europe.eu/maritime_affairs.]
The maritime defense is the constituting part of
the national military defense. Maritime defense for
the Member States of the EU is the defense of na-
tional territorial integrity; defense of the sea lines of
communication and other national maritime assets;
contribute to the peace and security in the different
world’s areas; and assists the national security ser-
vices in the crisis and distress situations. Ensuring
the maritime defense is the main objective of naval
forces [NSA, 2002]. These forces include the differ-
ent kinds of combat ships and craft, aircraft, as well
as the Autonomous Air Vehicles (UAV) and Auton-
omous Underwater Vehicles (UUV), and others.
In the not distant past the above mentioned func-
tions, i.e. maritime safety, maritime security and
maritime defense functions were realized by the or-
ganizational structures (maritime operational ser-
vices: Coast Guard and Navy) that operated abso-
lutely separately. They, of course, assisted each
other but only in the very difficult situations.
However now, but more precisely, in some last
years, the above mentioned situation began to
change. These changes express themselves in the
new situation of the national maritime services. The
main national operational services, i.e. the Coast
Guard and Navy, have been constrained to cooperate
closer and closer, and even they have begun to real-
ize the tasks that constituted not their own functions.
The most characteristics function in this respect is
the maritime security functions that besides the
Coast Guard or similar services, has begun
to be realized also by the navy and other maritime
operational services.
The main reason, and at the same time the turning
point of the above changes was the outbreak of the
Global War on World Terrorism (SEP of 11
th
, 2001).
The above process of closer and closer coopera-
tion of the main national maritime services did not
cease to exist but it continues to develop and be-
comes more and more important.
Taking the above situation into consideration the
conclusion can be drawn that besides the global
threat of terrorism, there must exist also some other
important reasons that result in the stepwise integra-
tion of the maritime safety, maritime security and
maritime defence functions in a kind of the new su-
per function, i.e. in the integrated function of mari-
time safety, security and defence [Kopacz, 2004],
[Kopacz, 2005], [Kopacz, 2006].
Below, there are presented the following issues:
− reasons of the present changes in the main na-
tional maritime functions;
− present state of the maritime safety, security and
defence functions;
− expected changes in the maritime safety, security
and defence functions.
2 THE REASONS OF THE PRESENT CHANGES
IN THE MAIN NATIONAL MARITIME
FUNCTIONS
The main changes in the maritime safety, security
and defense functions express themselves mainly in
the following situation:
− maritime security tasks that in the past were real-
ized by the Coast Guard or similar security ser-
vices, there are being now, in higher and higher
degree, realized also by the two other services,
i.e. by the national operational services and by the
navy,
− the tasks of the maritime defence that in the past
were almost exclusively realized by the navy, are
now being realized, in higher and higher degree,
by the other maritime services, i.e. by the national
operational services and by the Coast Guard
(or similar security services), however mainly by
the last ones.
It should be also mentioned that the issues of
maritime safety begin to be the exclusive issues of
national operational services and begin to be also the
issues of two other main maritime services, i.e.
Coast Guard and Navy. It is the result of the perma-
nent growth of danger of pollution of marine envi-
ronment by the ships, and the necessity of preven-
tion such pollution, as well as combating the
consequences of pollutions if they occurred.
The main reason of the above mentioned changes
in the maritime safety, security and defense func-
tions is not only the outbreak of the maritime terror-
ism in the world’s dimension. This factor is of