MOSCOW. Feb 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Marine Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service expects four to five new vessels this year, chief of the service Vice Admiral Vyacheslav Serzhanin told Interfax-Military News Agency Thursday.
"Each year Russian marine border guards receive two to three new ships and 10 to 12 motor boats for combat service. In this year we will have four to five new ships," he said.
According to him, the current Russia's marine border guard force includes over 100 ships and over 600 motor boats, 40 to 60 ships continuously at sea.
Serzhanin said that marine smugglers had become more active, especially in the Far East. He recalled that in 2003 there were six occasions when border guards were forced to fire at trespassing vessels.
The admiral said he backed the idea of developing marine border guard legislation together with neighboring countries for better coordination. "Any national legislation has to make seafood smuggling unprofitable," he said.