The UK Border Force’s fleet of cutters – patrol vessels meant to deal with small boats in the Channel – have been quietly dropped from service, a minister has admitted.
The cutters, purpose-built for tactical response work in British waters, have been scrapped in favour of a multi-million-pound set of private catamarans – normally used for servicing wind farms.
The move has left the new catamarans, which could cost UK taxpayers up to a whopping £36million per year, as Britain’s only patrol fleet in the English Channel.
In a shocking admission, Minister of State for Countering Illegal Migration Michael Tomlinson said the five cutters and further six ‘coastal patrol vessels’ hadn’t been used at all last year.
One of the Border Force cutters, Vigilant, which is set to be scrapped
PA
2023 saw 604 incidences of small boats in the Channel – 90 per cent of which had to be dealt with by the catamarans, with the RNLI covering the rest.
Tomlinson said: “During 2023, the Cutter & CPV fleet did not provide assistance to small boat operations in the South East region.
“Instead, Border Force utilised a fleet of 5 Commercial Transfer Vessels (CTVs) – Defender, Hurricane, Ranger, Typhoon and Volunteer.”
While Border Force officials are aboard the new CTVs, the small catamarans are mostly staffed by a private crew.
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The Home Office was firm on the move to scrap the dedicated craft – it said the previous fleet of cutters and coastal patrol vessels were “not suitable for rescue and recovery operations.”
“Alternative vessels are better equipped for the English Channel, and return specialist Border Force equipment to protect the rest of the UK’s border,” it told the Sun.
The cutters have been scrapped in favour of a multi-million-pound set of private catamarans
PA/US Navy