A new UK maritime force would duplicate naval functions

Should Britain create a maritime force that absorbs Border Force and takes fishery and infrastructure duties from the Royal Navy?

Probably not; it would duplicate administration and still require the Royal Navy for armed or contested operations while drawing from the same limited crews and budget.

The proposal immediately encounters the same shortages of people, ships, and money it is meant to solve. British civilian maritime agencies generally do not carry the weapons needed for contested fishery protection or counterterrorism, so the Royal Navy would still be called when coercive authority matters. Moving funding and hulls into a Home Office organization would add administrative boundaries without eliminating naval obligations. The existing fishery-protection squadron also gives the Navy useful patrol experience while complementing civilian enforcement.