Coast Guard of Georgia

Georgian Coast Guard საქართველოს სანაპირო დაცვა
Ceremonial ensign of the Coast Guard of Georgia[1]
Racing stripe
Battle ensign
Agency overview
Formed	July 16, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-07-16)
Preceding agency	Georgian Navy
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Georgia (country)
Specialist jurisdiction	Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Operational structure
Headquarters	Batumi naval base
Agency executive	Captain Ramaz Papidze, Commander of Georgian Coast Guard
Parent agency	Border Police of Georgia
Facilities
Vessels	44 vessels in total
Website
bpg.gov.ge/en/page/border-police/coast-guards

The Georgian Coast Guard (Georgian: საქართველოს სანაპირო დაცვა) is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire 310 km (190 mi) Black Sea coastline of Georgia, as well as the Georgian territorial waters. The northern half of this coastaline is since the 2008 South Ossetia war under the control of Abkhazia, though. The primary missions of the service are administration of the territorial waters, marine pollution protection, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, port security and maritime defence.

The former Georgian Navy (Georgian Naval Forces; Georgian: საქართველოს სამხედრო საზღვაო ძალები, sak’art’velos samkhedro-sazghvao dzalebi) was a branch of the Georgian Defense Ministry armed forces until 2009, when it was merged with the Coast Guard and transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Before the 2008 war, the Georgian Navy consisted of 19 vessels and 531 personnel of which 181 were officers, 200 NCOs, 114 conscripts and 36 civilians.

The headquarters and a principal Coast Guard base are located at the Black Sea port of Poti. A second smaller base is in Batumi, Adjaria. Besides the Poti-based force, the Coast Guard also includes a special counter-terrorist Detachment. Maritime surveillance radar stations are maintained at Anaklia, Poti, Supsa, Chakvi, and Gonio, providing coverage of all territorial seas.

As of 2021, the commander of the Georgian Coast Guard is Captain Ramaz Papidze.