Police watercraft are boats or other vessels that are used by police agencies to patrol bodies of water. They are usually employed on major rivers, [1] in enclosed harbors near cities or in places where a stronger presence than that offered by the harbormaster or coast guard is needed.
Police boats sometimes have high-performance engines in order to catch up with fleeing fugitives on the water. They have been used since the beginning of the 20th century. [2]
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.
The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its continuation. It maintains and supervises navigation, and protects the river's environment.
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Also participating in Operation Market Time were United States Coast Guard's Squadron One and Squadron Three. The U.S. Coast Guard operated under U.S. Navy command heavily armed 82-foot (25 m) patrol boats and large cutters that included 5-inch naval guns used in battle and gunfire support.
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine, estuarine, or river environments.
A brown-water navy or riverine navy, in the broadest sense, is a naval force capable of military operations in littoral zone waters. The term originated in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, when it referred to Union forces patrolling the muddy Mississippi River, and has since been used to describe the small gunboats and patrol boats commonly used in rivers, along with the larger "mother ships" that supported them. These mother ships include converted World War II-era mechanized landing craft and tank landing ships, among other vessels.
Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The de facto coast guard of Australia is the Maritime Border Command, a joint command of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Border Force which works alongside the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Each state and territory government have specific maritime safety agencies and police marine units. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard organisations which act as auxiliary search and rescue services and maritime safety educators with the largest organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol established in 1937, the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard established in 1961, and Marine Rescue New South Wales established in 2009.
Water police, also called bay constables, coastal police, harbor patrols, marine/maritime police/patrol, nautical patrols, port police, or river police are a specialty law enforcement portion of a larger police organization, who patrol in water craft. Their patrol areas may include coastal tidal waters, rivers, estuaries, harbors, lakes, canals or a combination of these.
The Marine Policing Unit (MPU) is the waterborne policing unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service, forming part of the Met Taskforce (MO7) within Met Operations. Its 22 vessels are responsible for waterborne policing of the River Thames in Greater London and supporting the rest of the Metropolitan Police and to the City of London Police when dealing with incidents in or around any waterway in London. A specialist underwater and confined-spaces search team carries out searches throughout the Metropolitan Police District. The unit also has 24 officers who are trained in rope access techniques and trained to carry out searches and counter-demonstrator operations at height.
HM Customs was the national Customs service of England until a merger with the Department of Excise in 1909. The phrase 'HM Customs', in use since the Middle Ages, referred both to the customs dues themselves and to the office of state established for their collection, assessment and administration.
The United States Coast Guard is the coastal defense, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight uniformed services. It carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are:
The Police Coast Guard (PCG) is a division of the Singapore Police Force that combines the functions of marine police and coast guard in Singapore. Its duties include the law enforcement and search and rescue operations in collaboration with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. It is headquartered at Brani Regional Base on Pulau Brani.
The Romanian Border Police is the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for the border security and passport control at border crossing points, airports and ports.
The Long Beach Harbor Patrol is security force within the Port of Long Beach. Its officers are highly trained, armed public officers dedicated to the public safety and physical security of the Port. Appointed as Public Officers under California penal code 836.5 by the City of Long Beach. Long Beach Harbor Patrol Officers are empowered to enforce provisions of the Long Beach Port Tariff and certain vehicle and penal codes, they provide a necessary and vital connection to real time events in the Harbor.
The Specialist Operations was a Command within the New South Wales Police Force that was responsible for a range of specialist groups of the police force. The division was headed by the deputy commissioner of the NSW Police, whose position was occupied by Nick Kaldas prior to his retirement.
The Los Angeles Port Police (LAPP) is a specialized law enforcement agency at the Port of Los Angeles, under the control of the Los Angeles Harbor Department and the City of Los Angeles. They are one of the few agencies in the nation that has a dedicated 24-hour marine unit. They have officers on boats 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and they are one of the few U.S. police forces dedicated exclusively to port activities. Los Angeles Port Police officers are sworn California Peace Officers and have the same rights and abilities as any other law enforcement officer. All port police officers respond to general calls for service, including domestic violence issues, commercial burglary calls, and drug busts.
China Coast Guard, colloquially recognized as the Haijing (海警), is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the People's Armed Police of China.
The Khulna Shipyard Limited(Bengali: খুলনা শিপইয়ার্ড লিমিটেড) is a Bangladeshi state owned defense contractor based in Khulna, Bangladesh. It is located on 68.97 acres (27.91 ha) of land at Labanchara, Khulna, Bangladesh. It is about 45 km north from the Port of Mongla. The shipyard has the capacity to build steel / aluminium ships up to 90 m length and 700 tons lightweight. The shipyard has a slipway with a capacity to dock and undock vessels up to 700 tons lightweight and overall length of 84 meters.
Iliria is an Iliria-class patrol vessel of the Albanian Coast Guard, built in Gorinchem, Netherlands by Damen Group. The class takes the name of the ship itself as it is its first. While the name itself is based on Illyria, an ancient region where today's Albania is part. The ship was commissioned and entered in service in 2008.
USCGC Adak (WPB-1333) was a United States Coast Guard cutter that received her name from Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Built at Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, Louisiana, Adak was placed in commission on 18 August 1989 in New Jersey and decommissioned on 30 June 2021 in Manama, Bahrain after almost 32 years of service.
The United Arab Emirates Coast Guard is the official coast guard agency of the United Arab Emirates and is primarily responsible for the protection of the UAE's coastline through regulation of maritime laws, maintenance of seamarks, border control, anti-smuggling operations and other services. The UAE Coast Guard is an affiliated branch of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and works in close coordination with the United Arab Emirates Navy.
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