TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) took delivery of its first new 100-ton patrol vessel in Kaohsiung City on Friday (Nov. 19).

The vessel, manufactured by the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co., bears the identification number “10087,” CNA reported. At 40 meters, the ship is longer and larger than its predecessors, but also stronger, making it more suitable for agents to board other ships.

The new vessel is part of a program to build 141 ships of six different types for the Coast Guard between 2018 and 2027. The launch of the “10087” had originally been scheduled for next January, but Jong Shyn managed to speed up the production process despite the COVID-19 pandemic, reports said.

The CGA said the vessel would immediately start patrolling the oceans around Taiwan to protect the nation’s sovereignty and the rights of its fishing crews. The country has had to deal with encroachment of its waters by illegal fishing trawlers and sand dredgers, mostly from China.