Coast guard struggling to staff its expanding fleet
By Chung Li-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has increased its fleet by 21.3 percent since 2022, but is struggling to recruit personnel to crew the vessels, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said yesterday, as the agency is increasingly tasked with countering Chinese “gray zone” incursions.
The CGA increased its fleet from 169 vessels in 2022 to 205 as of July under two vessel-building projects, but its recruitment shortfall has exceeded 30 percent since 2024 and is approaching 40 percent this year, it said.
The fleet added three patrol vessels and 34 patrol boats, while the number of pelagic patrol vessels decreased by one, the report said.
The Coast Guard Administration’s 1,000-tonne Penghu is pictured during the ship’s delivery ceremony at the port in Keelung on July 21.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
The larger fleet means the CGA needs to recruit 136 additional personnel this year and 128 next year, plus 15 people annually from 2028 to 2031, it said.
These staffing requirements do not include personnel needed for the Maritime Rights Protection Coast Guard Vessel Construction Plan (海域維權海巡艦艇建造計畫), it said.
From 2021 to last year, the CGA’s annual personnel requirements ranged from 142 to 306 people, while the number of candidates recruited ranged from 140 to 229, and the number who reported for duty ranged from 121 to 208.
The resulting annual shortfall ranged from 21 to 98 people, or 15 to 34 percent of the recruitment target, the report said.
The CGA’s recruitment target for this year is 344 people, an increase of 202 from 142 in 2021, it said.
As of the end of August, results had yet to be announced for the Civil Service Senior and Junior Examinations and the Grade 3, 4 and 5 Special Examinations for Coast Guard Personnel.
The report said it would continue to monitor the number of candidates selected and how many reported for duty.
However, the rate of shortfall for examinations whose results had been announced was about 40 percent, reinforcing concerns over recruitment, it said.
The CGA should draw on the experiences of the US and Japan and make greater use of technology to support coast guard operations, helping to address personnel shortages and maintain its maritime law enforcement capabilities, the Budget Center said.
In response, the CGA said it commissions the Central Police University and Taiwan Police College to recruit and train personnel for its vessels according to schedule, while replenishing its workforce each year through special examinations and other recruitment channels.
To encourage more young people to join, it has increased six types of allowances, including those for seagoing and hazardous duties, and sought budget approval for additional contract positions to recruit vessel operations personnel, it said.
Staffing levels aboard its vessels comply with regulations, it added.
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