French Navy patrol boat races to Jersey as tensions rise after Royal Navy called to ‘act of war’ blockade by 100 ships
A FRENCH Navy patrol boat has today raced to Jersey as tensions rise after the Royal Navy was called to the "act of war" blockade by 100 ships.
Angry French fishermen set off flares as dozens of boats began steaming in just after 6am as the huge row over post-Brexit fishing rights intensifies.
Two Royal Navy gunships - HMS Severn and HMS Tamar - dramatically stepped in this morning after being deployed by Boris Johnson following the threat of a French blockade.
They are armed with a 20mm cannon, which can fire 700 rounds a minute at a range of 1,300 yards.
Tense video footage shows one of the gunships keeping watch and patrolling the harbour as French vessels protest near the capital Saint Helier.
But just before 9am, Emmanuel Macron sent Navy patrol vessel Athos to the island in a dramatic twist.
The French 95ft patrol vessel is less than half of the size of each of the Royal Navy gunships.
Marine traffic data maps show the French vessel heading towards the island from the east - while the British ships are currently patrolling the south west side.
NAVY STEPS IN
Locals said tensions are running "very high" today as footage shows boats descending on the small island - just 14 miles from the French coast.
Jersey fisherman Josh Dearing described the scene at the port of St Helier on Thursday morning as “like an invasion”.
The 28-year-old said: “There were a few hand-held flares and smoke flares going off and apparently a few maybe bangers and stuff going off from the French.”
He said the French fleet was mostly made up of “big French dredgers and trawlers” of about 12 metres or more.
Mr Dearing added: “It was quite a sight. It was impressive, I looked from the shore this morning and it was just like a sea of red lights and flares already going off at sea. It was like an invasion.”
What we know so far:
- Around 100 French vessels descend on Jersey just after 6am
- French fishermen were seen setting off flares near the harbour
- They are protesting over new post-Brexit fishing rights
- Boris Johnson sends two Royal Navy ships to the island
- French Navy sends military ship to Jersey
- UK ministers could be drawing up plans to "retaliate"
He said there had been rumblings about a planned protest a few days ago but he had not been sure if it was “serious or empty threats”.
He added: “The French being the French, they don’t mess around. They can blockade their own harbours – they wouldn’t think twice about coming and doing it to us.”
Mr Dearing said he was “absolutely” pleased to hear on Wednesday night that Royal Navy vessels were being deployed to patrol the waters around Jersey.
He said: “We’re completely unprotected in Jersey. We’ve got nothing except for a few police officers. We don’t have a police boat, we don’t have a navy boat, we don’t have anything to protect us.
“The French can be hostile. All of our livelihoods are in that harbour and if they wanted to they could cause damage.”
Boris' dramatic move came after French fishermen - backed by Emmanuel Macron’s ministers - vowed to shut off the island unless they could fish more British waters, a threat branded an "act of war".
The furious spat erupted after the island - which is under Britain's protection - slapped French trawlers with post-Brexit fishing licence requirements.
Following today's blockade, UK ministers are now said to be drawing up plans to "retaliate" by reviewing energy links with France.
According to the Telegraph, Britain could buy electricity from the Netherlands instead.
Meanwhile, government sources have accused the French of sinking lower than the island's Nazi occupiers in the Second World War.
A source told the Telegraph: "At least when the Germans invaded they kept the lights on."
ROYAL NAVY VS FRENCH NAVY
HMS Tamar (P233)
DISPLACEMENT: 2,000 tonnes
LENGTH: 296ft 11in
TOP SPEED: 25 knots
POWER: 14,700 kW (19,700HP)
RANGE: 5,500 nautical miles
ARMAMENT: 1x Bushmaster 30mm cannon, 2x General purpose machine guns. 2 x Mini Guns
CREW: 60
HMS Severn (P282)
DISPLACEMENT: 1,677 tonnes
LENGTH: 260ft 10in
TOP SPEED: 20 knots
POWER: 125 kW (5,352HP)
RANGE: 7,800 nautical miles
ARMAMENT: 1x Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, 2x General purpose machine guns.
CREW: 30
FS Athos (A712)
DISPLACEMENT: 108 tonnes
LENGTH: 97ft 9in
TOP SPEED: 28 knots
POWER: 400hp
RANGE: 1,200 nautical miles
ARMAMENT: 1x Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
CREW: 13
Meanwhile, French fishing industry leader David Sellam accused the Jersey authorities of being lead "by extremists".
He said: "All they want is to see the French fishing effort reduced and they profit from Brexit.
"If we want peace, let's prepare for war… If we want to bring the Jersey fishery to its knees, we can do it."
The furious cross-Channel bust-up escalated after one of Macron's key allies threatened to pull the plug on the tiny island's electricity and French fisherman vowed to blockade ports to cut off food and medicine.
French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin threatened to cut off the island’s power of which 95 per cent is generated on the continent and supplied by three underwater cables.
She blasted: "We are ready to use these retaliation measures. I am sorry it has come to this. We will do so if we have to."
On Thursday morning, French fishermen were bracing themselves to "restage the battle of Trafalgar" as they prepared to take on the Royal Navy.
Jean-Claude La Vaullée, skipper of Le Cach, said: "I’ve refuelled the boat – we’re ready to restage the Battle of Trafalgar."
The furious Mr La Vaullée, who has been fishing off Jersey for more than 40 years, said he had now been given the right to "11 hours fishing a year" in the area.
CHANNEL ROW
Ms Girardin on Wednesday accused Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, of refusing to issue adequate new licences to her country’s fishermen.
Bertrand Sorre, France’s English Channel MP, said: “This unilateral decision by Jersey is totally illegal.
"We have been subject to the whims of the United Kingdom for too long. The European Commission must do its job."
Head of fisheries for the Normandy region, Dimitri Rogoff, said the French fishing vessels launched the blockade as part of a protest against the new rules.
The two Navy vessels have been sent to monitor the situation and protect the islands 100,000 citizens who depend wholly on imports for food, medicine and even electricity.
Supermarket bosses on the island today warned their shelves will be empty by Saturday unless the Royal Navy can stop French trawlers blockading the port.
Stocks of bread, fruit, fresh meat and vegetables will be gone if freight ships cannot deliver their crucial daily supplies, CEO of Jersey Co-op Mark Cox said.
Mr Cox said the island is relying on the Royal Navy ships HMS Severn and HMS Tamar to make sure the French boats back off.
The last freight ship, Commodore Goodwill, arrived in Jersey at 4.30am and there is another scheduled for tonight, but supermarket chiefs fear it may not get through.
Mr Cox told The Sun: "The port is a lifeline to the island and it is absolutely critical that the freight vessels can get into the port.
"It's vital that those routes are kept clear, the shelves will be bare within two days if the port is blocked.
"At this stage we are reliant on the Royal Navy to keep the freight ships coming into the island on a daily basis."
HMS Severn, which has previously been used to shadow Russian navy warships, arrived near Jersey in the early hours of this morning. HMS Tamar joined shortly after.
Following crisis talks with the island's leadership, Downing Street said: "The Prime Minister underlined his unwavering support for Jersey.
"He said that any blockade would be completely unjustified. As a precautionary measure the UK will be sending two Offshore Patrol Vessels to monitor the situation.
"They agreed the UK and Jersey Governments would continue to work closely on this issue."
The Royal Navy ships were first deployed soon after the UK finally departed the EU at the beginning of the year - again to ward off French trawlers.
TENSE FISHING ROW
Fishing was a major sticking point during last year’s Brexit negotiations - and has now flared up once again.
Under the deal European trawlers can continue catching in UK waters for some years to come.
But those casting their nets off Jersey must obtain a licence by proving they have a history of operating in these waters.
Last Friday the Jersey Government handed 41 of these permits to French boats that rely on the rich waters surrounding the British dependency.
Yet French authorities complained these licences came with “new technical measures” that have hamstrung their fishermen with last-minute red tape.
Jersey’s demands include French boats be equipped with tracking devices, as well as making them fill out more paperwork.
Emmanuel Macron’s maritime minister stoked tensions by threatening to cut off the power supply to Jersey in retaliation.
And frustrations came to a boil when a fleet of French boats steamed to the port of St Hellier threatening a blockade.
After France warned it would be "brutal and difficult" unless their boats got better access, Britain branded the comments "surprising and disappointing, especially from a close neighbour."
David Sellam, head of the joint Normany-Brittany sea authority, claimed Jersey had been taken over by an "trustworthy" and "extremist fringe, who want to reduce French fishing access and profit from Brexit".
“We’re ready for war. We can bring Jersey to its knees if necessary,” he raged.
The UK called the menacing words "surprising and disappointing" - but Jersey boatmen warned blocking St Helier would be an "act of war".
A government spokesman added: "To threaten Jersey like this is clearly unacceptable and disproportionate.
“This is just the latest example of the EU issuing threats as a first resort at any sign of difficulty.”
As tensions mounted, Boris Johnson was urged to send in Navy observers by the boss of the Commons Defence Committee.
Tobias Ellwood slammed France’s “shameful behaviour” and pleaded for calm.
The ex-defence minister added: “It would be wise to dispatch a Royal Navy Off Shore Patrol Vessel to the area to observe and report.”
St Helier is Jersey’s only port, which is narrow and would only take a handful of 150-ton French trawlers to block.
But local fisherman Steve Viney, 55, told The Sun: "It would be an act of war, it would be amazing to see the French try but I think they would be disappointed when they arrived and realised we won't stand for it.
"The fact that the EU is threatening an island is off the scale, they like to think they are civilised but clearly that's not true because this is something that Russia or China might do."
Murray Norton, chief executive of Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said the French have been heavy handed in their threats.
Mr Norton said: "The French threats are disproportionate considering we are talking about only a handful of fishing licences which are in dispute.
Jersey's External Affairs Minister, Ian Gorst, said the French have made clear their "frustration" over the new Brexit trade deal.
He told BBC News: "There is some frustration in France, and they've made it clear to us, around the terms of the new trade deal.
"But we are in a new era of relationship with the European Union. That is governed by the Brexit trade deal and we believe that it can serve our interest as well as the interests of French fishermen into the future.
"We cannot look back to the previous arrangements. They have gone. We must make the new trade deal work in all of our interests."
No10 said France should lodge a complaint using the dispute mechanism set up in last year's Brexit deal if it has a problem rather than immediately making threats.
A UK Government spokesman said: "We are working closely with the EU and Jersey on fisheries access provisions following the end of the Transition Period, so trust the French will use the mechanisms of our new treaty to solve problems.”
A Whitehall insider added: "They should be using the mechanisms of our new Treaty to solve problems - that is exactly what it is there for."
An EU Commission spokesman said today: "The Commission was notified on Friday 30 April by UK authorities of the granting of 41 licences to EU vessels for fishing in Jersey’s territorial waters as of 1 May with specific conditions.
"Under the EU-UKTCA, any proposed management conditions have to be notified in advance to the other party, giving them sufficient time to assess and react to the proposed measures.
"Furthermore any addition of new specific conditions to these fishing authorisations that limit EU fishing activities in UK waters must be comply with the objectives and principles set out in the TCA, which are based on clear scientific rationale."Any such conditions must also be non-discriminatory between UK and EU vessels.
"The Commission has clearly indicated to the UK that the provisions of the EU-UKTCA have not been respected.
"Until the UK authorities provide further justifications on the new conditions, these new conditions should not apply.
"The Commission remains in close contact with France and the UK on the matter."
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