Japan Coast Guard upgraded the 11th Regional Coast Guard Miyakojima Office to Miyakojima Department on Oct. 1. The upgrade is in part to enhance security around Senkaku Islands, and in part to cope with an increase in marine leisure accidents as the number of tourists to Miyako is soaring.

Miyako Coast Guard has also been allocated three new enhanced patrol vessels to be based Nagayama port on Irabu Island. The small-type vessels are all 43 meters long and 7.8 meters wide and first of their kind in Japan. At the same time, the patrol staff will be increased from the current 55 to 118.

Another six vessels of the same type will be added to the Miyako fleet during fiscal 2018, which will bring the number of patrol boats of Miyako Coast Guard to 12, and the staff to about 200 total by the end of fiscal 2018.

The new enhanced type patrol vessels are protected with fenders to prevent them from being overturned, in the case the vessel is rammed by a foreign country fishing boat. It also has enhanced tracing equipment and has powerful water cannons installed. The first three vessels are going to be named “Shimoji”, “Kurima” and “Ohgami” according to small islands surrounding Miyako.

A two-story maintenance shelter for the vessels is going to be built at Nagayama port. The building area will be 560 square meters, and the total floor area of the building 1,114 sq.m.

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