Quinton Edness said yesterday.

For the Island is set to get bigger, armed boats with a blue water capability as well as a chopper, probably to be shared between the Bermuda Regiment and Police.

And a UK Ministry of Defence expert is to visit the Island to help draw up a plan to beef up Bermudian air-sea power in a bid to increase drug busts and protect the Island's territorial waters.

Mr. Edness said: "One of the things we have to do since the US pullout is have a capability for search and rescue.

"We certainly need to develop a more effective drug interdiction method.

Drugs are dumped at sea with a homing beacon and picked up by very high-speed craft. We want to get there first.

"The day is coming when we will have to get better craft than we have now.

They will have to sail 100 or 200 miles out in search and rescue missions.

"We also need to look at our 200 mile fishing zone. There are increasing pressures for this to be better policed.

Mr. Edness added: "Regiment soldiers have already begun training exercises with the Marine section and this will be ongoing.

"And we are going to have to sooner rather than later have the capability of a helicopter which can provide search and rescue.'' He added: "I hope we can develop several people, both in the Police Service and the Regiment, with the capability to fly a helicopter.'' Mr. Edness was speaking after his marathon three-and-a-half hour delivery of his Ministry's Budget in the House of Assembly.

Earlier, he told MPs: "The main practical applications for an expanded maritime role are in the area of drug interdiction and the enforcement of the 200 mile zone of economic activity.'' He added: "We have international commitments to be involved in search and rescue in this part of the Atlantic Ocean. We already have a tremendous radio capability with Harbour Radio. What we have to do is supplement that with equipment and trained manpower.'' Bermuda may launch `navy' Mr. Edness told the House that more than $200,000 had been allocated to Bermuda's seagoing Police officers to upgrade boats and engines.

Mr. Edness said: "Since the departure of US, UK and Canadian forces from Bermuda there has been no local military maritime presence.'' But he pointed out that the 1994 Grundy report into Policing the Island had recommended a bigger role for Police, while the Regiment has also identified a need for a beefed-up boat troop.

Bermuda's only helicopter -- a small Bell JetRanger operated by Bermuda Helicopters left the Island last month with a for-sale tag attached.

Negotiations to win a Government contract for search-and-rescue work fell through because the single-engined chopper failed to meet strict regulations, especially for night flights, and could only operate within six miles of the Island.

DRUGS DGS RESCUE RES