An Alaskan ferry service that frequently docks at a ferry terminal in British Columbia will contract an armed team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to help assist the unarmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who monitor the ferry.

The armed Canadian police will protect U.S. agents who operate out of Prince Rupert in British Columbia. They will be working as employees of the ferry service, which has been confronted with budget cuts as a result of legislature created by the Alaskan state government.

U.S personnel are not allowed to carry firearms while carrying out passport and contraband checks, though there is an agreement in the works for allowing U.S. officers to be armed during these searches.

The plan to hire armed Canadian police is in motion, but has yet to be confirmed publicly.