Berhampur: Shortage of manpower, lack of interceptor boats and infrastructure, and poorly trained marine police personnel have affected security along the Ganjam coast.

The marine police stations here were set up to keep a tab on illegal activities such as smuggling of arms, contraband, unauthorised fishing, and infiltration through the sea route and to guard vital installations along the coast. But not a single marine related case has been filed since the inception of the police station, sources said.

Two interceptor boats of Arjipalli Marine Police Station were damaged in Cyclone Phailin in October 2013, leaving the staff members with no vehicle to patrol the sea, except during exercises when they use boats rented from the forest department.

"At present, the police station at Arjipalli is manned by 17 personnel, including an inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, five havildars, seven constables, a driver and two boat crew members against a sanctioned strength of 81, including an inspector, six sub-inspectors, six assistant sub-inspectors, 16 havildars, 48 constables and 14 boat crew members," said inspector-in-charge Baidehi Behera.

The situation is the same at Patisunapur Marine Police station that opened in 2014. With no patrolling boats and a handful of staff members, it struggles to maintain vigil along the 35km coastline between Haripur and the Odisha-Andhra border.

"The two interceptor boats which were damaged include a 12-tonne capacity, Rs 2.35 crore one fitted with eco-sounder (to calculate the depth of water), radar, night vision lens, Global Positioning System and other equipment. The five-tonne capacity boat cost Rs 1.25 crore and ran on petrol with a maximum speed of 35 nautical miles per hour," said Braja Bandhu Behera, an ex-navy personnel and master of the boat.

The only option is getting new boats and building new infrastructure, including a proper jetty, he said.