Five hi-tech speedboats to protect Mumbai coastline

Five hi-tech speedboats will patrol and protect the 124-km coastline of Mumbai. The five boats are a part of the 29 speedboats purchased by the state government in a budget of Rs150 crore. Each speedboat costs Rs 3.5 crore.

Five hi-tech speedboats will patrol and protect the 124-km coastline of Mumbai. The five boats are a part of the 29 speedboats purchased by the state government in a budget of Rs150 crore. Each speedboat costs Rs 3.5 crore.

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“Post-26/11 terror attack via sea route, the need for a secure coastal line has increased. The Centre has already provided us with 28 boats. Now an additional 29 boats have been procured by the state government,” state Home Minister RR Patil told reporters on Sunday at the inaugural function at the Gateway of India.

Out of the five boats, three will be used by the Mumbai police and one each will be handed over to the Thane and Navi Mumbai coastal police.

Based on the feedback given by the coastal police on the four old boats, the manufacturers have added special features which makes these boats better equipped and sophisticated.

“While five boats were delivered on Sunday, the next batch of five are expected in November and the 19 boats are likely to be handed over to the police by January 2011,” said Director General of Police D Sivanandhan.

Aiming to have more speedboats to protect the coastline, the state government is likely to sanction Rs150 crore in two more phases.

Taking lessons from the earlier speedboats, the police had given a feedback to the manufacturing company to improvise on the boats.

“The old boats developed maintenance defects and were not functional for many months because of the rough weather and rocky coastline of Mumbai,” said Qaizer Khaid, deputy commissioner of police (port zone).

“The engines were not equipped to deal with pollutants due to which they had developed problems.”