Of 9 interceptor boats, 8 are non-functional, only one operational along 105-km coastline
PANAJI
As tensions mount along the India-Pakistan border and the Government of India urged states to tighten security, a stark disconnect has emerged in Goa.
Despite Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s assurance that the State is equipped to handle emergencies, a ground-level review reveals that the Goa Police’s coastal security apparatus is woefully underprepared. The Coastal Police have been relying on a single functional interceptor boat along the entire 105-kilometre coastline.
Reliable police sources confirmed to The Goan that of the nine interceptor boats allocated to the seven coastal police stations, eight are non-operational and pending condemnation. The remaining lone vessel, a 15-metre Fast Interceptor Boat (FIB) named Chandreshwar, commissioned only over a year ago for Rs 5.25 crore, is the sole guardian of Goa’s vast and strategically sensitive coastal waters.
The operational Chandreshwar is stationed alternately at Agassaim and Patto jetties, while five High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) boats are deployed for riverine patrols across the Tiracol, Chapora, Mandovi, Zuari and Talpona rivers.
However, sources conceded these vessels are inadequate for high-seas surveillance or emergency interdiction, being 30 HP and having mercury outboard engines. A proposal to acquire two additional 15-metre fast patrol boats with conventional propulsion is allegedly stalled.
Moreover, in contrast to its official preparedness narrative, the Goa police have had no maintenance contract for its interceptor fleet since July 2020, when its agreement with Goa Shipyard Limited expired. Since then, no new service provider has reportedly been engaged.
According to the manufacturer, the vessels have a life expectancy of 10 years or 3,500 engine hours – an operational lifespan that most of the boats exceeded years ago.
Records accessed by The Goan indicate that many of these boats were first deployed over a decade ago. For instance, Tiracol station’s 5-tonne boat dates back to October 2011; Siolim’s 12-tonne and 5-tonne boats were allotted in 2009. Other boats, including those at Chapora, Panaji, Betul, and Talpona, were inducted between 2009 and 2011. Today, all these vessels are effectively deadweight–docked and unfit for deployment.
The current strength of the Coastal Security Police is that it has 204 personnel, as revealed by the department itself.
It is also learnt that while the boats are not operational, the government incurred Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh per annum on the fuel cost since 2011. There was no fuel consumption during the years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 as the boats were non-operational.
Sources involved in recent inter-agency nationwide mock drills noted some communication gaps wherein the department now heavily relies on WhatsApp instead of the traditional wireless communication, and has no satellite phones.
