Coastal police in Goa yet to get high-speed patrol boats

Coastal police in Goa yet to get high-speed patrol boats
Preetu Nair, TNN

PANAJI: The coastal police will have to wait till after the Parliamentary polls to put to use the sophisticated skills they recently learnt.

Trained to operate high-speed, bullet-proof boats fitted with machine guns, the 65 policemen attached to three coastal stations will have to instead be content with patrolling the state’s 105-km coastline on four old, worn out boats.

This is because the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), which has an order to prepare 116 GRP patrol boats for the western state coastal police, is yet to supply the state government with the high-speed patrol vehicles.

After the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai, with a view to improve coastal patrolling, the central home ministry decided to allocate high-speed boats to states on the west coast. Goa, accordingly, is due to receive four five-tonne ‘Invaders’ and four 12-tonne ‘Hell Raisers’, all highly sophisticated machines, capable of withstanding terrorist strikes.

“We are yet to get the high-speed boats from GSL. But we have been told that we will be immediately allotted one five-tonne speedboat as soon as a formal order is issued by the central ministry,” said a senior police official.
Officials at GSL, wishing anonymity on account of the election code of conduct, told TOI, “The boats are being built at GSL unit II in Goa. About 30-odd boats are ready and will be handed over to the government of India and the respective coastal police including Goa soon.”

While the five-tonne petrol vessels can hold 16 persons each, the 12-tonne diesel boats can accommodate 20 each.
Moreover, the former vessels feature two outboard motors, wireless systems and bullet-proof cabins that can withstand an AK47 charge from 10 m.

The latter boats, on the other hand, have jet propulsion engines, can travel up to 40 nautical miles and can be used for deep sea patrolling. These 12-tonne vessels are called the mothership and can’t be detected on radar.

“The boats are unsinkable, designed for the patrol party’s safety. Not only can they be used for patrolling, they can also be used for rescue operations and are very popular with the European coastal police,” said sources.


13 Apr 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition