Latest news with #PasdeCalais
Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Owner of British fishing boat seized by French fined €30,000
A British fishing boat seized by French authorities in the English Channel last month was released after officials forced its owner to pay €30,000 (£25,260), it has been revealed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on May 22 for 'non-authorised fishing in French waters'. Four days later, the vessel, which was accused of fishing for whelks without a licence, was allowed to return to Britain following the payment of what sources described at the time as a 'substantial' sum. Pierre-Michel Bon-Gloro, the deputy departmental director of territories and the sea for Pas-de-Calais, has now disclosed that the Lady T was released 'upon payment of a €30,000 deposit' to French maritime authorities. A fishing industry source said: 'The skipper of the Lady T is not at all happy about the French keeping the €30,000 bail. It's effectively a fine by any other word. 'He's set up a GoFundMe page to help him pay it because it's a hell of a lot of money for anyone to have to lose like that.' 'Tit-for-tat spat' Following the seizure of the Lady T, Olivier Leprêtre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested it had been intercepted in a tit-for-tat spat. It came after the skipper and owner of Pierre D'Ambre, a French-registered vessel, were fined £40,000 at Newcastle magistrates' court in April after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone. Mr Leprêtre told The Times: 'Until now the French government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen. 'There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.' Another French official said at the time that the Lady T was 'looking for it' after entering exclusive French waters. 'One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,' they added. 'A very expensive lesson' The Telegraph understands that the Lady T has now returned to sea and is fishing in EU waters under an external waters licence. A source said: 'The skipper is feeling very sore about the entire episode, as you can imagine. He's been fishing in those waters all his life. 'He'd been waiting for his external waters licence when the boat was seized. It's been a very expensive lesson for him.' The seizure came days after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years in a deal critics fear will damage the industry. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, previously accused the French of 'shameful double standards' over the Lady T incident.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Child among 2 migrants who died attempting to cross English Channel to Britain in small boat
A woman and a child died on an attempted illicit overnight sea crossing Wednesday from France to Britain. It brings the number of deaths this week on the risky migration route to at least three, French maritime authorities said. At least 14 people have died so far this year. French rescue services found the woman and child unconscious aboard a small boat carrying nearly 80 migrants off the Pas de Calais coast of northern France, maritime authorities said in a statement. A French Navy vessel took aboard 10 other people who asked to be rescued from the boat, it said. The rest of those aboard the boat then continued into British waters, while the French naval vessel transported those who had been rescued to the French port of Calais, it said. Earlier this week, one person died and another was reported missing at sea after a boat overloaded with migrants broke apart during another attempted overnight crossing of the English Channel. The missing person's body has not been found, French maritime authorities said. More than 12,500 people have crossed the English Channel on small boats so far in 2025, according to U.K. government figures.
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Associated Press
Child among 2 migrants who died attempting to cross English Channel to Britain in small boat
PARIS (AP) — A woman and a child died on an attempted illicit overnight sea crossing Wednesday from France to Britain. It brings the number of deaths this week on the risky migration route to at least three, French maritime authorities said. At least 14 people have died so far this year. French rescue services found the woman and child unconscious aboard a small boat carrying nearly 80 migrants off the Pas de Calais coast of northern France, maritime authorities said in a statement. A French Navy vessel took aboard 10 other people who asked to be rescued from the boat, it said. The rest of those aboard the boat then continued into British waters, while the French naval vessel transported those who had been rescued to the French port of Calais, it said. Earlier this week, one person died and another was reported missing at sea after a boat overloaded with migrants broke apart during another attempted overnight crossing of the English Channel. The missing person's body has not been found, French maritime authorities said. More than 12,500 people have crossed the English Channel on small boats so far in 2025, according to U.K. government figures.
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
1 Person Dies When a Boat Overloaded with Migrants Sinks in the English Channel
One person died when a boat overloaded with migrants broke up during an attempted overnight crossing of the English Channel, the 12th migrant killed so far this year in the treacherous waterway between France and Britain, The Associated Press said. French and British rescue services together picked up 61 people alive overnight Monday who were pitched into the sea off the Pas de Calais coast in northern France, among them a woman and her child who required hospital treatment for hypothermia in the French port of Boulogne, French maritime authorities said in a statement. A French Navy helicopter also spotted a body in the water that was picked up by a British lifeboat — the 12th person killed while attempting the crossing this year, according to the French maritime authorities' count. French maritime authorities said they sent out an emergency message for assistance when the boat sank, prompting British boats and an aircraft to join the rescue operation with French vessels and the French helicopter carrying a medical team.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Washington Post
1 person dies when a boat overloaded with migrants sinks in the English Channel
PARIS — One person died when a boat overloaded with migrants broke up during an attempted overnight crossing of the English Channel, the 12th migrant killed so far this year in the treacherous waterway between France and Britain. French and British rescue services together picked up 61 people alive overnight Monday who were pitched into the sea off the Pas de Calais coast in northern France, among them a woman and her child who required hospital treatment for hypothermia in the French port of Boulogne, French maritime authorities said in a statement.
