Five speedboats to boost Maharashtra’s coastal vigil

MUMBAI - In a significant boost to efforts to secure the 720-km-long Maharashtra coastline, the state government Sunday inducted five sophisticated speedboats for sea patrolling.

The new boats, equipped with sophisticated arms, advanced communications and navigation features like GPS, were inducted into the police fleet at a function by Home Minister R.R. Patil.

“Following the 26/11 terror attack by Pakistani terrorists using the Arabian Sea route, we have been laying greater emphasis on coastal security than ever before,” Patil said at the function held at the Gateway of India Sunday afternoon.

The central government has provided the state government 28 speedboats, Patil said. Besides, the state government has decided to procure 29 additional speedboats from its own resources, the minister said.

Manufactured by Marine Frontiers Private Limited, the boats can travel at a speed of 40 nautical miles per hour, which would help in patrolling the high seas effectively.

Apart from being bulletproof, each boat is equipped with a radar that enables it to spot other boats in its radius, measure the depth of the sea at any point, a GPS and a marine communication device that will help it communicate with other boats in the vicinity.

Director General of Police D. Sivanandan said that of the 29 speedboats ordered by the state government, five have been delivered, the next batch of five boats is expected in November and the remaining 19 boats would be delivered in early 2011.

Of the five newly acquired speedboats, three have been handed over to the Mumbai police for manning its 40-km-long coastline and one each have been given to Thane and Raigad police.

Last November, Mumbai police had inducted four three-wheeled ‘Sealegs Amphibious Marine Crafts’ that can operate at 10 kmph on land and and 40 kmph on water. They are stationed at Girgaum Chowpatty, Dadar Chowpatty, Juhu and Versova beaches on the western side of Mumbai.

With the new addition, the Mumbai police will in all have 18 boats at their disposal for keeping a round-the-clock vigil along the city’s coastline, according to official sources.

Sunday’s lot includes a high-speed interceptor and a 12-metre

highspeed patrol boat.

The boats will give a fillip to coastal security in the state, especially in view of the fact that the 10-member Pakistani terror group sneaked into Mumbai by the Arabian Sea route to carry out an attack Nov 26-29, 2008 which left 166 dead.