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