Izarian Coastal Guard (Pacifica)

Izarian Coastal Guard
Coat of arms of the Coastal Guard
OPV-85 vessel of the Izarian Coastal Guard
Founded	1930
Headquarters	Coastal Guard HQ, Aitzondoa
Website	cg.izaria.gov
Leadership
Deputy Commander of Operations (DCO)	Jone Elizondo
Minister of the Interior & Maritime Security	Aitor Garmendia
Commander of Operations (CO)	Amets Bengoetxea
Manpower
Military age	18-50
Reaching military age annually	(2025 est.)
Active personnel	220
Reserve personnel	80
Expenditures
Percent of GDP	6%
Related articles
Ranks	- Commandant - Deputy Commandant - Squadron Commander - Vessel Captain - Commander - Lieutenant Commander - Senior Lieutenant - Lieutenant - Ensign - Senior Chief Petty Officer - Chief Petty Officer - Petty Officer First Class - Petty Officer Second Class - Seaman - Petty Officer First Class - Petty Officer Second Class - Seaman

The Izarian Coastal Guard (ICG) is the principal maritime law enforcement and security agency of the Republic of Izaria. With the nation maintaining no standing military, the Coastal Guard is the country's sole armed, uniformed service and holds primary responsibility for the nation's maritime sovereignty, security, and safety across its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior & Maritime Security. As of 2025, the service maintains an active-duty force of approximately 220 personnel and a volunteer reserve component of 80, operating a small fleet of modern offshore and coastal patrol vessels.

History

The Izarian Coastal Guard was formally established in 1930 by an act of the Izarian Assembly, consolidating various regional maritime police and customs cutter services that had existed since the republic's founding in 1924. Its creation was driven by the need for a unified, national agency to enforce customs laws, combat smuggling, and provide search and rescue services for the growing number of commercial and fishing vessels operating in Izarian waters. The discovery of significant offshore petroleum reserves in the late 1950s fundamentally altered the service's mission, placing the protection of critical energy infrastructure and the broader EEZ at the forefront of its duties. Since its inception, the ICG has evolved from a small force of lightly armed patrol boats into a professional, technologically equipped constabulary force capable of sustained offshore operations.

Organization

The Coastal Guard is headed by the Commander of Operations (CO), a senior uniformed officer who reports directly to the civilian Minister of the Interior & Maritime Security. The CO is assisted by a Deputy Commander of Operations (DCO) and a small headquarters staff in Aitzondoa, which handles strategic planning, logistics, intelligence, and inter-agency coordination.

Operationally, the ICG is divided into two primary squadrons:

• 1st Squadron (Offshore/EEZ): Based in Aitzondoa, this squadron operates the service's larger Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). It is responsible for extended-duration patrols of the EEZ, protection of offshore oil platforms, major search and rescue missions, and interdiction operations in international waters adjacent to Izaria.
• 2nd Squadron (Coastal/Archipelagic): Operating from smaller forward bases on multiple islands, this squadron commands the fleet of Coastal Patrol Craft and fast intervention boats. Its purview includes coastal fishery protection, maritime law enforcement within territorial waters, port security, pollution response, and daily search and rescue coverage around the archipelago.

Fleet

The ICG fleet is modernized and purpose-built for its multi-role mission profile, emphasizing endurance, surveillance capability, and interoperability. Key assets include:

• Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs): The service operates two OPV-85 class vessels (e.g., IZCG Zaina II, IZCG Herri Zaina). These 85-meter ships are the ICG's flagships, capable of 30+ day patrols. They are equipped with a medium-caliber naval gun, heavy machine guns, advanced surveillance radar and sonar systems, and facilities for deploying boarding teams and a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB).
• Coastal Patrol Craft (CPCs): A fleet of four to six 30-meter fast patrol boats provides rapid response capability. They are armed with heavy machine guns and are used for fishery inspections, counter-smuggling operations, and coastal surveillance.
• Fast Intervention Boats: Numerous RHIBs and smaller interceptor craft are used for boarding operations, harbor patrol, and high-speed pursuits.
• Specialized Vessels: The service maintains a buoy tender/hydrographic survey vessel and a dedicated oil-spill response vessel, reflecting its environmental protection mandate.

Responsibilities

The statutory mandate of the Izarian Coastal Guard is exclusively constabulary and protective in nature. Its core mission of Maritime Law Enforcement involves the enforcement of all Izarian laws within the nation's maritime jurisdiction. This encompasses a wide range of duties, most prominently counter-narcotics operations to interdict the trafficking of illicit substances, anti-smuggling activities aimed at preventing the illegal transport of goods and people, and the interdiction of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to protect the nation's vital fishery resources and sovereign rights.

Central to national interests is the mission of Maritime Security. This duty involves the active protection of critical maritime infrastructure, which for Izaria includes offshore oil and gas platforms, commercial port facilities, and other vital terminals. To fulfill this, the Coastal Guard conducts persistent maritime domain awareness patrols across the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), systematically monitoring all vessel traffic to identify suspicious activities, ensure compliance with regulations, and maintain a comprehensive picture of the maritime environment for both safety and security purposes.

The service also functions as the primary agency for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations across the vast area of Izaria's maritime responsibility. The Coastal Guard coordinates and executes all major maritime rescue missions, working in concert with available civilian air assets to respond to vessels in distress, conduct medical evacuations, and save lives at sea, upholding a fundamental obligation to mariner safety.

A significant and growing responsibility is Environmental Protection. The Coastal Guard is tasked with monitoring the marine environment for pollution incidents, such as oil spills or illegal discharges, and leading the immediate response to mitigate ecological damage. Furthermore, it enforces national and international marine environmental regulations and provides direct support for marine scientific research, aligning its operational role with the nation's broader ecological stewardship principles.

Finally, in the unique absence of a traditional navy, the Coastal Guard assumes a National Defense function as the republic's first line of maritime defense. While not equipped or trained for conventional naval warfare, its vessels and personnel are responsible for the critical tasks of identifying, monitoring, tracking, and reporting any vessels or activities that may pose a potential threat to Izaria's national sovereignty or territorial integrity within the maritime domain, serving as the nation's persistent eyes and forward presence at sea.

Budget

The ICG is funded through the national budget. Its annual allocation constitutes approximately 6% of total government expenditure, a significant investment that reflects the critical importance of maritime security to Izaria's economy and sovereignty. Funding supports personnel costs, vessel maintenance and modernization, fuel, and advanced surveillance technology.