The scale of small-boat crossings in the English Channel is changing rapidly, with France’s lifeboat service warning that there may be “no limit” to the number of migrants smugglers can pack aboard increasingly large vessels.
The warning follows the arrival of a boat carrying 230 people — a vessel larger than a London bus and capable of carrying more passengers than a Boeing 737 — in the latest escalation of the Channel migration crisis, GB News reported.
Jean-Marc Lamblin, director of France’s SNSM lifeboat service, said operators had been seeing a growing number of boats around 15 metres long.
“We recently passed the record of 150. We didn’t think there could be more, but there really seems to be no limit anymore,” he said.
The vessel reportedly launched from Berck-sur-Mer, more than 40 miles south of Calais, before reaching British waters. French lifeboats were involved in transferring migrants during the operation.
The episode has intensified criticism of French enforcement. Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, argued that a vessel of such size should have been intercepted before leaving the French coast.
The economics of the crossings are also becoming more striking. Migrants can pay around £2,000 for the journey, potentially generating more than £460,000 in revenue for a single boat for organised smuggling networks.
The cost to the UK is potentially far greater. Government estimates cited by critics suggest the immediate pressure associated with accommodating and processing arrivals can reach tens of thousands of pounds per person.
Downing Street said the episode demonstrated the “reality” of criminal gangs willing to put lives at risk for profit, while defending its cooperation with France.
The government says joint action has prevented 47,000 attempted crossings since the election.
Yet the emergence of ever-larger vessels presents a new challenge. Boats used by smugglers are increasingly understood to originate in Asian manufacturing supply chains before being moved through Europe to staging points near the French coast.
For policymakers, the arithmetic is becoming uncomfortable: larger boats mean fewer launches are needed to sustain the same flow of people — potentially increasing the pressure on an already strained border system.
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