New €9m Customs vessel arrives in Cork and will begin anti-smuggling missions in coming weeks
The Revenue cutter, RCC Cosaint, which has cost just over €9m to build, is part of a €20m investment in new vessels for the service.
The cost of the ship is funded from the Irish Exchequer and a grant from OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, which is part of the EU's Anti-Fraud Programme. The new vessel was built by AuxNaval, part of the Armon Group in Spain.
A spokeswoman for Revenue said that the Cosaint arrived in Cork city on 3 August and that it will replace the current vessel RCC Suirbhéir in the coming months.
'The new Cutter, along with RCC Faire, will be operated by Revenue's Maritime Unit (RMU), which has responsibility for patrolling Ireland's 3,173 kilometres of coastline.
'The RCC Cosaint is a significant investment by Revenue in maritime frontier controls and will offer enhanced endurance and sea-keeping performance, ensuring a more capable and reliable presence at sea.
'This upgrade supports Revenue's ongoing commitment to maintaining robust customs and excise controls, particularly in the detection and prevention of smuggling and other illicit activity along Ireland's coastline,' she said.
There has been a major recruitment drive by Revenue to staff their patrol vessels in recent months – they have used a direct entry campaign for the first time.
During a tour by
The Journal
of one of the current patrol vessels,
Andrew Ryan, who is the operations manager for the Revenue's Maritime Unit
, said that they are heavily involved in intelligence gathering work.
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There are generally six or seven person crews and their work is diverse.
Crews also engage in boarding of vessels and are available to participate in searches of cargo ships. They can also deploy aboard Air Corps aircraft to monitor shipping movements.
The agency currently operates two vessels – the Revenue Customs Cutter (RCC) Suirbhéir and the RCC Faire.
The vessels are normally stationed in Kinsale, Co Cork or Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin and patrol across the coasts of Ireland.
One key mission for Customs is its part in the the Joint Task Force on Drug Interdiction (JTF) in which it works closely with the Naval Service and An Garda Síochána.
They played a key role in the capture of the MV Matthew and the seizure of €157m worth of cocaine, which is the largest drugs seizure in the history of state.
Customs along with An Garda Síochána evaluate intelligence gathered through various routes, including via the EU and UK-backed Maritime Analysis Operations Centre – Narcotics agency in Portugal.
Previously Revenue said that there will be no designated home port for the new vessels and that they will be based at 'secure berths in specific locations as required'.
The Cutter has a range of more than 750 nautical miles and a top speed of 18 knots using twin main engines.
For patrolling and controls at sea the Cutter has a slipway for launching and recovering a 6.25 metre RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat). To increase surveillance capabilities, it also has a platform for launching drones.
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