List of Border Force cutters (UK)

This List of Border Force cutters is a listing of all cutters to have been commissioned by the Border Force and its predecessors since the amalgamation of HM Customs with the Excise department of the Inland Revenue in the early 20th century. During that time, the cutter service has been overseen successively by:

Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; which merged with the Inland Revenue in 2005 to form:
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs;^[1] which in 2008 transferred its frontline customs controls to:
the UK Border Agency; which in 2012 was split to form Border Force and Immigration Enforcement.

Prior to the formation of HM Customs and Excise in 1909, revenue cruisers of various types were operated in UK waters by various bodies: not only the separately constituted Boards of Customs and Excise, but also the Admiralty and the Coast Guard.^[2]

For much of the 20th century, the Cutters were supplemented by a fleet of smaller 'launches'; but these were non-seagoing vessels, restricted to patrolling rivers and estuaries.^[3]

In 1980 HMCE's Revenue Cutter Service was renamed the Customs Cutter Service. Thenceforward its vessels bore the ship prefix "HMCC" - Her Majesty's Customs Cutter (previously they had long been known as HM Revenue Cutters).^[3] Following the flotilla's transfer to the UK Border Agency they were given the prefix "HMC" - Her Majesty's Cutter; all current vessels of the UK Border Force bear this prefix.

Currently the Border Force has a fleet of five ocean-going Cutters and six smaller 'Coastal Patrol Vessels' (CPVs).^[4] All eleven vessels are due to be replaced, however a schedule for their replacement has not (as of March 2023) been announced.^[5] In 2022 it was reported that additional boats and crews had been chartered (for up to six months at a time) from companies linked to the offshore wind industry.^[6]

^ Cutters List of Revenue Cutters
^ Smith, Graham (1980). Something to Declare: 1000 Years of Customs and Excise. London: Harrap.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Graham (1983). King's Cutters: The Revenue Service and the War against Smuggling. London: Conway Maritime Press.
^ "Fact Sheet: Small Boats". Home Office Media. UK Government. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
^ "UK Border Force: Patrol Craft". Parallel Parliament. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
^ Davies, Rob (29 August 2022). "Home Office pays firms £2.5m to pick up people trying to cross Channel". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2023.

[1] Cutters List of Revenue Cutters

[Smith1980-2] Smith, Graham (1980). Something to Declare: 1000 Years of Customs and Excise. London: Harrap.

[Smith1983-3] Smith, Graham (1983). King's Cutters: The Revenue Service and the War against Smuggling. London: Conway Maritime Press.

[SmallBoats-4] "Fact Sheet: Small Boats". Home Office Media. UK Government. Retrieved 12 March 2023.

[5] "UK Border Force: Patrol Craft". Parallel Parliament. Retrieved 12 March 2023.

[OffshoreWind-6] Davies, Rob (29 August 2022). "Home Office pays firms £2.5m to pick up people trying to cross Channel". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2023.

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