The UKBA 42m Customs Cutter is a class of four patrol vessels operated by the UK Border Agency

UK Border Agency

The UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...

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Construction

The class were built to the Damen Stan Patrol 4207 design in the Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands between 2001 and 2004, and have a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure. Much effort has been expended in making them quiet to reduce crew fatigue; their engines are raft-mounted, decks throughout the ships are of a floating type, and their compartments are constructed on a box-within-a-box principle.

A 7 metres (23 ft) Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) can be launched from the stern slipway. They are fitted with a 2000 litres (439.9 imp gal) per minute fire fighting system for dealing with fires in other ships.

Name prefix

The Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise Departments merged to form HM Revenue and Customs on 18 April 2005, and from this time customs cutters changed their prefix from "HMRC" (Her Majesty's Revenue Cutter) to "HMCC" (Her Majesty's Customs Cutter). Following transfer to the UK Border Agency this was shortened to the current HMC (Her Majesty's Cutter) and a new livery applied to the fleet of cutters.

Propulsion

The class are fitted with twin Caterpillar 3516B DI-TA Elec engines driving twin 4-bladed controllable-pitch propellers through a pair of 3.5:1 reduction gearboxes. The total installed power of 4176 kW gives them a top speed of 26 knots (51 km/h). A single Promac bow thruster is fitted for slow speed manoeuvring in confined spaces. Electrical power is supplied by a pair of 106kWA generators.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Callsign	IMO Number	Fate
HMC Seeker	Damen Shipyard, Netherlands	2001	ZQNL2	9234795	In service
HMC Searcher	Damen Shipyard, Netherlands	2002	ZQNK9	9234800	In service
HMC Vigilant	Damen Shipyard, Netherlands	2003	ZITI4	9276353	In service
HMC Valiant	Damen Shipyard, Netherlands	2004	MBLL8	9293698	In service

Operations

HMC Vigilant seized an estimated 300kg of cocaine off the south coast of the Isle of Wight in gale-force conditions during 2010. Officers from the UK Border Agency, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Hampshire Police discovered the drugs in 11 rucksacks attached to a buoy off Tennyson Point, close to where a fishing vessel was spotted acting suspiciously over the bank holiday weekend. Three people were arrested on the fishing vessel Galwad-Y-Mor (SU116) in Yarmouth, and were charged with conspiracy to import cocaine into the UK.

HMC Searcher seized £12 million of cannabis off the Sussex coast in July 2011. Searchers fast patrol intercepted and boarded a Dutch yacht. It was then escorted into Newhaven Harbour

Newhaven, East Sussex

Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...

and 4 men were arrested and taken into custody at Brighton. A court hearing is yet to be held.