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Customs to deploy 109 more boats for patrolling

Like the state government, the Customs department has woken up to threats following the terror attacks in the city last month.

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Like the state government, the Customs department has woken up to threats following the terror attacks in the city last month. The current fleet of 13 vessels, which is used for coastal patrolling has been increased by an additional 109 new boats. Nine of them were commissioned on Saturday near Indira Dock.

Customs claims that the order of the 109 vessels was placed two years back after a review of the threat perception taken by the department. However, sources from the department said that the procurement procedure for the new vessels was expedited and the number of vessels increased after the attacks.

The fleet, which has been ordered, will cost Rs358 crore, say officials. The vessels, which are in three sizes, are being constructed by shipbuilding companies from Singapore and Malaysia. About 31 of the vessels have already been delivered and will be used for coastal patrolling in the western and eastern coastal areas.

Central Board of Excise and Customs chairman PC Jha, said that the three category I vessels commissioned on Saturday will be used for the patrolling near Mumbai, Okha and Umargaon covering 600 km of the coastal area. He added that the second lot of 21 category I vessels —with the speed limit of 24 nautical miles per hour — will be delivered by April 2010.

Jha also said that the department could concentrate on security measures. “In some countries like Canada the responsibility of the revenue collection has been outsourced,” he said.                         

g_surendra@dnaindia.net

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