[5] Operation Sea Guardian additionally has access to the assets that compose the NATO Standing Naval Forces – including ships, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft.
[14] To ensure and maintain maritime security in the Mediterranean, Operation Sea Guardian provides crisis response and management alongside logistical support and surveillance for the European Union (EU).
[17] As stated by the Allied Maritime Command, Operation Sea Guardian is "aimed at working with Mediterranean stakeholders to deter and counter terrorism and mitigate the risk of other threats to security".
[22][23] The expansion of NATO maritime engagement within the Mediterranean has been seen as imperative to uphold freedom of navigation and protect the blue economy and shipping industry from illegal activities.
[44] It encompassed the role of Operation Active Endeavour in ensuring safety in the Mediterranean whilst moving to strategically focus on permanent surveillance.
While in practice this transition can be considered "mainly a change in terminology", it satisfied many diplomatic actors and resolved many political-military tensions, allowing the justification of collective self-defence.
[54] The Joint Declaration allowed the EU and NATO (and their twenty-two common member states) to systematically engage in closer strategic and operational cooperation.
[59] The agreement also strengthened cooperation in counterterrorism, giving substance to their strategic partnership[60] by creating a shared vision of combatting common security threats.
[61] This catalysed cooperation in the fight against terrorism by stepping up the exchange of information, coordinating their counter-terrorism support for partner states, and working to improve national resilience against terrorist attacks.
[68][69] In July 2017, NATO agreed to support Operation Sophia in the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions 2236 (2016) and 2357 (2017), linked to the arms embargo on Libya.
[78] Both are focused on the prevention of human smuggling and monitoring of maritime crime networks – Irini within the Libyan conflict and Sea Guardian through counterterrorism.
The French frigate Courbet, flagship of the Sea Guardian force, was illuminated three times by targeting radar as it attempted to approach the Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, Çirkin, which was under Turkish Navy escort.
[81] This incident occurred when Courbet acted on suspicion that the cargo ship may have been breaching UN Security Council Resolution 2473 – the United Nations arms embargo.
[83] The Turkish government denied the French accusation that Çirkin had been carrying arms to Libya and demanded an apology, stating that the ship was instead transporting humanitarian supplies.
[84][85][86] On 21 September 2020, the European Union sanctioned the Turkish maritime company Avrasya Shipping, which operates the freighter Çirkin, as the vessel was "found to have violated the arms embargo" imposed upon Libya in May and June 2020.