Abbott government buys cheaper Vietnamese fishing boats to tow back asylum seekers

By Sarah Whyte
Updated March 6 2015 - 3:13am, first published 1:23am
The single-use orange lifeboats. Photo: Michael Bachelard
The single-use orange lifeboats. Photo: Michael Bachelard
Two of the Vietnamese fishing boats in a Darwin boat yard on Thursday.  Photo: Glenn Campbell
Two of the Vietnamese fishing boats in a Darwin boat yard on Thursday. Photo: Glenn Campbell

A small fleet of brightly coloured Vietnamese fishing boats based in Darwin are believed to be replacing the orange lifeboats used by the Customs and Border Protection department to tow back asylum seeker boats that make it to Australian waters.

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