HM Customs and Excise was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes.
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 customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government.
The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands.
The Waterguard was a division of HM Customs and Excise (HMCE) responsible for the control of vessels, aircraft, vehicles and persons arriving into and departing from the United Kingdom. This included crew members and passengers, as well as persons travelling on foot. Waterguard officers were responsible for applying the allowances provided for in law and for collection of customs and excise revenue on the excess. The officers were also responsible for the enforcement of the prohibitions and restrictions, including controlled drugs and plant and animal health. With the reorganization of HM Customs and Excise in 1972 the Waterguard was renamed the 'Preventive Service' and the functions of the Waterguard continued to be carried out as part of the HMCE until the establishment of the UK Border Agency in 2008.
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.
United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet (19.8 m) or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.
A number of vessels of the British revenue services, at times known as the Inland Revenue, HM Customs and Excise, HM Revenue and Customs, and most recently UK Border Agency, have been named Vigilant:
HMC Vigilant is a Border Agency (customs) cutter of the United Kingdom. She was launched by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands in 2003 and is one of four 42-metre (138 ft) cutters operated by the UK Border Force.
HMRC Vigilant was an Isles-class naval trawler, formerly HMS Benbecula, acquired by the HM Customs and Excise in 1946, and fitted out for service with the Customs.
HMC Valiant is a Border Force (customs), formerly UK Border Agency, cutter of the United Kingdom. She was launched by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands in 2003 and is one of four 42-metre (138 ft) cutters formerly operated by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and since 2008 operated by the UK Border Agency and after its dissolution in 2013 operated by the UK Border Force.
HMC Seeker is a Border Force (customs) cutter of the United Kingdom. She was launched by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands in 2001 and is one of four 42-metre (138 ft) cutters formerly operated by HM Revenue and Customs, then from 2008 she was operated by the UK Border Agency and after its dissolution in 2013 operated by the Border Force.
The Dutch shipbuilding firm The Damen Group, designs and manufactures a wide variety of vessels, including a range of related patrol vessels known generally as the Damen Stan Patrol vessels.
HMC Searcher is one of four cutter ships operated by UK Border Force in the role of patrolling the waters of the United Kingdom. She was launched by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands in 2002.
Border Force (BF) is a law-enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Home Secretary Theresa May demerged it in March 2012 after severe criticism of the senior management.
HMC Sentinel was a patrol ship operated by the Border Force in the role of patrolling the waters of the United Kingdom. It is a Vosper Thornycroft 'Island Class' vessel and was commissioned in 1993.
The Dutch shipbuilding firm The Damen Group, designs and manufactures a range of patrol vessels, of various sizes, including the Damen Stan 4207 Patrol Vessels. The Damen Stan patrol vessel designs' names include a four digit code, where the first two digits are the vessel's length, in metres, and the second two digits are its width.
Iliria-class patrol vessels is an Albanian Coast Guard class of patrol vessels, that is based on the Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel design. The first ship of this class Iliria, from which the class takes its name, was produced in Gorinchem, Netherlands by Damen Group and was commissioned in 2008. The other three vessels were built locally starting from 2009 to 2014 in Albania by the state-owned Pashaliman Shipyard. Over a dozen navies, coast guards and other government agencies operate vessels based on this design. While some of those vessels are equipped for purely civilian patrols, the Albanian ships are armed with a remote-controlled 20mm Nexter M621 NARWHAL cannon.
Border Force