Overview

• The 11.2-metre catamaran was unveiled in Plymouth and enters service after Home Office funding of about £300,000–£350,000.
• Neptune can reach roughly 40 knots and is equipped with a long‑range infrared camera and an underwater drone for surveillance and evidence gathering.
• Police chiefs say intelligence indicates people- and drug‑smuggling operations are shifting toward Devon and Cornwall to evade intensified focus on the south and east coasts.
• The vessel will support interceptions, boarding and deterrence across the extensive coastline, with roles spanning coastal safety to tackling wreck looting.
• Small‑boat arrivals this year have surpassed 34,000, a record for this point since 2018, even as the force logged fewer than 10 organised immigration cases locally over two years.