Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Sherelle Kennelly: Chief Executive of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation on new remote controlled vessels to help combat drug smuggling around our coastline

Transcript

Sherelle Kennelly: Chief Executive of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation on new remote controlled vessels to help combat drug smuggling around our coastline · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Two brand new unmanned surface vessels were launched in Devenport yesterday.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: They called Tahi and Ruher, and they're going to be
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: used to intercept Class A drugs before they get into
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the country. For an idea of how big of a
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: problem this is getting, the Ministerial Working Group report showed
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: customs seized fifty five kilograms worth of methan fetterming ten
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: years ago. Now ninety kilograms get stopped every week. Charrell
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Kenney is with the customs brokers in Freightford's Federation. She's
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: with me this morning. Charrell, Good morning, Ian, Good to
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: have you on the program. So what do you know
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: about these vessels?
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Oh, aren't they a fabulous look Drones of the ocean.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: I think they've been called. But there are you know,
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: an investment in sustainable safe technology to try and help
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: combat these illicit drugs that keep coming across the border.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Because there's a lot of it coming in, right and
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: they've already managed to find some on the bottom on
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the hus of some ships.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, So these new vessels will be able to monitor
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: them safely offshore, you know, sort of be at the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: forefront before it actually gets to the border. But it's
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: a welcomed announcement yesterday.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Are they hard to drive?
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Well, they're remote controlled, I believe, so you know, they're
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: safe to operate for personnel going into potentially dangerous situations,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: and they can be sustainable offshore for days on ends.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: So it's a really welcomed addition to the sleep for
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: customs and the defense for.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Do you know what happens to them once they I mean,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: because obviously somebody is going to be on land controlling them.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Does that mean that they would just be out there
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: potentially twenty four to seven. Would there be someone on
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: land keeping one and the whole time?
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: I definitely think it's twenty four to seven surveillance. Yeah,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: And with the two vessels they can sort of you know,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: monitor different parts of the coast, whereas potentially the defense
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: Force the New Zealand Customs can't get to those places
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: all the time. So it's a real asset in protecting
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: New Zealand.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Pretty cool technology, Shirley, thank you for Charrelle, Sorry, thank
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: you so much for your time. Charell Kennedy, chief executive
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: at Customs Brokers and Frankford's Federations. For more from early
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: edition with Ryan Bridge listen live to news talks it'd
• 2:21
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• 2:23
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