Border Force Cutters Delayed to 2030 - and HMCE Customs Cutters move to full time crews in 1998

 Earlier this week, The Times revealed that plans for five cutters and six patrol vessels to replace the current Border Force fleet have been delayed until 2030 due to post-Brexit trading rules. After Britain left the EU in 2020, it signed up to World Trade Organisation rules which state that Government contracts must be open to international competition. Instead of excluding construction of civilian ships from the list, trade secretary Liz Truss replicated the EU’s terms of accession to the EU with the only exemption being warships. Truss is blaming her predecessor, the disgraced Sir Liam Fox. 

The current cutters were built in the Netherlands, commissioned by HMCE in 2001, and transferred to UK Border Agency (as was) in 2005. Procurement of replacements has been repeatedly delayed since 2020. The fleet must now be redesigned to include military modifications, so that the vessels can be made in British shipyards.

The use of cutters on Customs duties dates back to the 1600’s but the current vessels were commissioned in 2001, replacing vessels which had reached the end of their useful service after 20 years. Reflecting the increase in demand on the vessels, it was only a few years before, that they were finally crewed by full time staff.


In May 1998 the HMCE staff newspaper Portcullis reported that the cutters were taking on full-time crews for the first time in 50 years. The first cutters had been crewed by professional seamen with Customs officers supervising. But in 1947 HMCE realised it would be cheaper to use Customs officers as crew. 

Initially there were only two cutters needing 12 officers drawn from a large pool of Waterguard officers who retained seagoing skills from wartime service. The cutters only ran during the Summer to combat smuggling from yacht owners, so the crew were only temporarily posted. Over the years, the number of cutters and crew increased, especially with the need to protect a combined UK and EU coastline during the 1970’s. With cutters now working all-year-round, crews were required to fill three-month stints with two days off in 14 ( their other jobs back home were covered by collection officers). While the service required 256 temporary officers, all of whom had to be trained and equipped, the actual number had fallen to 170 by 1998.

With a parallel PFI project to procure a reduced number of cutters, a national union ballot backed plans to staff the cutters with 120 permanent officers, working shifts of two weeks on, two weeks off.

Stuart Baird: Cutters Take On Full-Time Crews, Portcullis, May 1998.

Matt Dathan: Brexit blunder delays Border Force fleet and sends  costs soaring. The Times 19/09/24



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