Lives put at risk as ropes, knives and other emergency tools removed and fuel tanks sealed, says customs officer

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The orange lifeboats used to return asylum seekers to Indonesia were stripped earlier this year of safety equipment, including ropes, scissors, knives and other emergency tools, raising further concerns about the use of the vessels, according to a customs officer involved in their deployment.



The lifeboats are designed to act as emergency vehicles and come stocked with items for crises. Guardian Australia has also learnt the fuel tanks were capped to prevent any refuelling.



“They did a heap of work on those boats,” the officer said. “They stripped out everything they thought was unnecessary … the lifeboats come with an assortment of stuff, a mirror, fishing line, knives, ropes, a bucket. They stripped all that out.”



A former secretary of the defence department, Paul Barratt, said: “Those are designed as emergency vessels. They are designed to maximise the chances of survival, so everything they take off reduces the chances of survival in certain circumstances.”



Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) declined to answer questions about whether the use of the lifeboats without some equipment posed a risk to safety, or whether newer lifeboats were continuing to be stripped of equipment.



Tensions with Indonesian have heightened again following revelations that an asylum seeker vessel may have been turned back with additional asylum seekers on board. The prime minister, Tony Abbott, cancelled a visit to Indonesia this week, and the Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, said it was a “very serious development”.



Pictures obtained by Guardian Australia show the Ocean Protector towing a lifeboat and reveal the cramped conditions asylum seekers face when they board the vessel.



It is also understood the Ocean Protector – which is heavily involved in lifeboat operations – entered Indonesian waters in one of the incursions earlier this year as a direct result of towing a lifeboat.



ACBPS have also declined to answer questions about whether they continue to stand by the findings of a joint review into the incursions into Indonesian waters, which found there had been a series of incorrect calculations of Indonesia’s baselines that show the boundaries of their waters.



Last month Guardian Australia reported the Ocean Protector had entered far deeper into Indonesian waters than previously disclosed, despite having digital navigational charts that displayed the correct boundaries of Indonesia’s territorial baselines.



The digital map showed, based on historical data, the ship crossing a red line that marked Indonesia’s baselines. ACBPS said there had been “no evidence” presented to the review that suggested the vessels had correctly calculated Indonesia’s baselines.



A spokesman for ACBPS added: “The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s internal professional conduct inquiries associated with the incursion of Australian vessels into Indonesian waters are ongoing.



“These inquiries are being concluded as quickly as possible with regards to the due process obligations of the service. Until these inquiries are concluded, and their recommendations considered, it would not be appropriate to comment on them further.”

