Philippine customs bureau to get 20 new patrol boats in 2020

A total of 20 new patrol boats will be delivered to the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) in 2020, senior officials of the BOC and the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed on Wednesday, December 4.

The vessels will be assigned to the BOC’s water patrol border security force and will be jointly crewed by personnel from the BOC and the coast guard as part of an agreement by the two agencies to increase cooperation on maritime security.

A number of BOC personnel have been regularly deploying on coast guard vessels tasked with anti-smuggling missions. Following the introduction of the new patrol boats into service, joint BOC and coast guard crews will be manning BOC-owned vessels for the first time.

The BOC patrol boats will be sourced from unnamed shipyards overseas.