Border Force Craft

awol

awol

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According to the BBC there is only 1 of 5 BF Cutters patrolling the narrow bit of La Manche and yet they picture one of at least 4 of their grey painted ex-BP ARRCs "rescuing" migrants. In an idle moment I tried to find the whereabouts of their fleet using Marinetraffic but none seemed to admit to being at sea.
I wonder what the men-in-black are up to? They seem able to stop and board yachts in such immigrant smuggling hot spots as the Sound of Mull but seem notable by their absence down south.
 
We need to get the Marines on the job. That would scare the s**t out of these illegal pests! A fast moving RIB with gun tooting men dressed in black! should have been sorted months ago.
 
Appledore said:
We need to get the Marines on the job. That would scare the s**t out of these illegal pests! A fast moving RIB with gun tooting men dressed in black! should have been sorted months ago.
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I doubt that very much. No one is going to shoot these people and everyone knows that. Hence they will keep coming in what is really a a quick and relatively safe passage. Having come from wherever, the channel is a walk in the park. The question that needs to be answered is why have the criminals started now, is it really to do with the Brexit date and rush before the doors are perceived to be closed? That does not make sense to me, as they are claiming asylum when they get here. Maybe the French are looking the other way when before they actively helped to control the issue; maybe not.
 
It probably wouldn't take more than a couple of innovative French crooks to start pinching & seling on dinghys and small day-fishing boats to create the spike we've seen in the last week or so.
 
awol said:
According to the BBC there is only 1 of 5 BF Cutters patrolling the narrow bit of La Manche and yet they picture one of at least 4 of their grey painted ex-BP ARRCs "rescuing" migrants. In an idle moment I tried to find the whereabouts of their fleet using Marinetraffic but none seemed to admit to being at sea.
I wonder what the men-in-black are up to? They seem able to stop and board yachts in such immigrant smuggling hot spots as the Sound of Mull but seem notable by their absence down south.
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I didn't think they did show an AARC, I saw a bigger ship than that with a Pac 24 or similar RIB sliding out the 'back door'...

So the HMC Searcher, Seeker, Valiant, Vigilant fleet...

I may be wrong, but I'd assume they have an AIS Exemption. In fact... Are they <300GT and =<12 crew?
If you either want to be picked up... You just need a phone to find them or want to hide from them... Hence the no AIS

While Mull isn't exactly a hotspot for people trafficking they don't just police the border for people. And the very fact that this forum discusses that they've been stopped on the West Coast presumably acts as at least a small deterrent from using it as an unpoliced route for goods / people
 
Old Bumbulum said:
It probably wouldn't take more than a couple of innovative French crooks to start pinching & seling on dinghys and small day-fishing boats to create the spike we've seen in the last week or so.
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Yes with a marketing message that says go now while you can... The crooks won't care if that's not true if they are getting several £k for making it happen now
 
Can somebody explain why it will be more difficult for migrants after Brexit.
Surely it would be in the French interests for migrants to leave the EU. What benefit would it give the French to stop them leaving?
 
Dan Tribe said:
Can somebody explain why it will be more difficult for migrants after Brexit.
Surely it would be in the French interests for migrants to leave the EU. What benefit would it give the French to stop them leaving?
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No explanation needed for you - there won't be any change. However it is the explanation used by the crooks to encourage the Iranians to part with their money now.

It is likely that this flurry of activity will be short lived as it is fuelled by a small number of wealthy (relatively) Iranian Christians (mostly) who left Iran for Serbia when the restrictions on travel were lifted 2 years ago. This route has now been closed.

There is a lot of sympathy for these migrants and a high likelihood of getting asylum. From what I understand they are mostly well educated, western orientated and will adapt to our society quickly. If they are anything like the Iranians I worked with who fled Iran in the late 70s when the Islamic State was created they will do well.

Having said all that I would rather such people could be helped through official channels rather than being preyed on by the criminal community and then vilified by sections of our press. Equally it does not excuse the incompetence of our authorities (or is this deliberate?).
 
Dan Tribe said:
Can somebody explain why it will be more difficult for migrants after Brexit.
Surely it would be in the French interests for migrants to leave the EU. What benefit would it give the French to stop them leaving?
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It won't.
But if you are a vulnerable refugee who has risked life and limb to get to France, why would you not believe someone who is telling you that "UK is leaving Europe in March, you need to get there by then because they will be toughening up the borders etc etc"

Afterall.. if you search on here there are plenty of threads where people are claiming to sail to France will require VISAs etc.

Under the Dublin treaty if they are fingerprinted in another Euro Country before getting to UK they could be sent bAck there. In March... That agreement ceases.
 
ShinyShoe said:
Yes with a marketing message that says go now while you can... The crooks won't care if that's not true if they are getting several £k for making it happen now
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Why would you bother getting a criminal to source you an overpriced stolen dinghy with outboard of unknown origin ? if you have that amount of dosh to arrange that you can walk into a chandlers in Calais buy your own gear an orienteering compass is about £6, easy if there are 5 or 6 clubbing together.

The French are stopping them if they find them leaving the beaches as over there to set out in an incorrectly rated craft is an offence
 
Tranona said:
(or is this deliberate?).
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Surely you are not suggesting the UK Government is allowing a myth to be propagated in France causing a surge. A surge that will miraculously be fixed in March? That will be "proof" of the benefits of controlling our own borders?

And Surely you are really not suggesting that the 3 or 4 boats we currently have deployed in the Med but presumably might not have in March would need to justify their presence on the UK shores? While at the same time reminding the EU27 that those boats are in the Med just now and won't be...

Rediculous.
 
chrishscorp said:
Why would you bother getting a criminal to source you an overpriced stolen dinghy with outboard of unknown origin ? if you have that amount of dosh to arrange that you can walk into a chandlers in Calais buy your own gear an orienteering compass is about £6, easy if there are 5 or 6 clubbing together.

The French are stopping them if they find them leaving the beaches as over there to set out in an incorrectly rated craft is an offence
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I guess... But purely a guess... If you are Iranian walk into a French Chandlery and buy a 4.2m Honwave and a 20hp Honda Engine... Cash. You attract attention.

If some bloke tells you he knows a way for you to get to the UK on a boat... But it will cost. You might be hoping for a bigger boat? He might even tell you it's bigger. But you pay first before you see it. They will be saying they have got 200+ people there in the last 2 months...

Remember these are people who are desperate.

These people may well have the only documents they have (passports/Id cards etc).

It's easy sitting here to say.. surely there is a safer / easier way... We haven't spent 2 years risking life and limb to escape from a tiranous country where your life is endangered because of your beliefs etc..
 
If I got this right the, UK Border Force has some of their vessels in the Med helping stem the flow of migrants into Europe.

Whilst they keep the 4 20m Ribs patrolling UK waters?

And the RN keep training with their small Archer vessels, 17 of them.

Plus of course the much lager Offshore Patrol Vessels, increasing in numbers still allowing one on permanent loan to the Falklands.

Doesnt sound much to keep a few Brown People from swarming the UK?
 
The more patrol boats we put out the more people we will pick up before they reach the English coast, and of course will complete the journey for them. French boats will bring people back to France and British boats will bring people back to England. So it's working with France and funding their services if needed that will help stop the people being able to risk their lives.
 
English boats, in English waters will come to Engerland.

English boats in French waters?

But...

Don't kid yourself that failing today means they won't try again Tomorrow.

How long till we get a 3 year old washed up on a beach in the UK?
 
It appears to need 8 craft to escort one submarine down the Clyde, whether to protect us from it, or it from us, is a moot question, + a couple of tugs if it is heading up Loch Long. One redundant oil-rig protection RIB guarding the white cliffs of Dover in a declared "major incident" seems a tad cavalier.
 
awol said:
It appears to need 8 craft to escort one submarine down the Clyde, whether to protect us from it, or it from us, is a moot question, + a couple of tugs if it is heading up Loch Long. One redundant oil-rig protection RIB guarding the white cliffs of Dover in a declared "major incident" seems a tad cavalier.
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All vessels of the Border Force bear the ship prefix "HMC"—Her Majesty's Cutter. Between May and October 2015 two of the vessels, HMC Protector and HMC Seeker, were deployed in the Mediterranean conducting search and rescue operations. The Border Force also has a recently chartered vessel named MV VOS Grace.[21]

Ship Class Entered service Displacement Type Homeport Note
HMC Seeker UKBF 42m Customs Cutter 2001 257 tonnes Cutter
HMC Searcher UKBF 42m Customs Cutter 2002 257 tonnes Cutter
HMC Vigilant UKBF 42m Customs Cutter 2003 257 tonnes Cutter
HMC Valiant UKBF 42m Customs Cutter 2004 257 tonnes Cutter
HMC Protector Telkkä-class 2014 434 tonnes Cutter Portsmouth[22] [23]
HMC Active 20m RIB 2016 31 tonnes Coastal Patrol Vessel [24][25][26]
HMC Alert 20m RIB 2016 31 tonnes Coastal Patrol Vessel [24][25][26]
HMC Eagle 20m RIB 2016 31 tonnes Coastal Patrol Vessel [24][25][26]
HMC Nimrod 20m RIB 2016 31 tonnes Coastal Patrol Vessel [24][25][26]
More Vessels are to be commissioned in 2017.[27]

OK, the Clyde. If you have been to any container port anywhere, you will nearly always find vessels with two tugs clagged on. Clearly if the Container Ship has an engine or steering gear failure then its important to recover the situation as quickly as possible. Now considering a vessel propelled by a reactor and possibly carrying Atom Bombs, it is obvious that precautions are taken to protect the General Public.

Of course Military Vessels, by the nature of what they are designed for are a potential target so every Navy on the planet ensures their vessels are suitably escorted in close home manouvering.

These days, the MOD Police that are responsible for that (nothing to do with immigration issues) are there most probably to tell the dopey headed 'you cant tell me what to do' types that seem more prevalent on pages like this to move along......
 
ShinyShoe said:
Surely you are not suggesting the UK Government is allowing a myth to be propagated in France causing a surge. A surge that will miraculously be fixed in March? That will be "proof" of the benefits of controlling our own borders?

And Surely you are really not suggesting that the 3 or 4 boats we currently have deployed in the Med but presumably might not have in March would need to justify their presence on the UK shores? While at the same time reminding the EU27 that those boats are in the Med just now and won't be...

Rediculous.
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None of that I am afraid. There are many people including some in charge of these things who might not want to deter this particular type of migrant. It would be interesting to know how many are immediately granted asylum.
 
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