Stealth migrant patrols ‘at risk of collisions’

THE UK Border Force is risking collisions in the English Channel by turning off tracking systems on vessels looking for migrants, experts have warned.

One cutter is now patrolling the Channel amid a migrant crisis which has seen over 100 people either make it to the UK or be intercepted at sea since Christmas Eve.

It will soon be joined by two more vessels after Sajid Javid bowed to pressure to redeploy British cutters from the Mediterranean.

The Home Secretary previously raised concerns that more cutters would act as a “magnet” for migrants.

The Border Force ship is believed to have been switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), to prevent migrants from tracking it via an app.

However, the move has been described as a risky one in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer and captain of HMS Endurance, said: “Operating without AIS is pretty dodgy. It’s not very clever and not very seamanlike. In a busy shipping area like the Dover Strait there are a number of vessels going through who are not paying attention and AIS is their only means of anti-collision.

“The merchant vessel on autopilot may not be maintaining a proper lookout, so AIS … saves your bacon.”

He added: “I wouldn’t go to sea in any boat, no matter what size without AIS, because nobody looks out the window.”

The Home Office refused to deny Border Force had been operating without AIS.

‘I wouldn’t go to sea in any boat without AIS. Nobody looks out the window’

A spokesman said: “We don’t comment on operational matters.”

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requires all ships over 300 tonnes in international waters, cargo ships over 500 tonnes not on the high seas and all passenger ships to be fitted with AIS.

A spokesman for the International Maritime Organisation said the rules do not apply to military vessels or those on government service, but that all countries are “encouraged to apply the same regulations”.