British Trawler Seized by France Has Officially Departed Le Havre Port, Sailing English Channel

The vessel was detained over allegedly failing to present a licence for fishing in French waters. The ship's seizure happened amid an unfolding row between Paris and London over fishing. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently agreed to resolve the issue without further escalation of the conflict.

British fishing trawler the Cornelis Gert Jan, which was detained by the French authorities last week, officially departed the northern French port of Le Havre late Wednesday, marine traffic data has revealed.

Latest tracking data indicates that the vessel is traversing the English Channel at a speed of 9 knots after having left Le Havre at about 11:30 p.m. local time.

The vessel's swift release became possible after a local court rejected the French authorities’ demand to hold it on a 150,000 euro ($173,752) bail bond.

VIDEO: Crew of British trawler Cornelis Gert Jan getting ready to leave Le Havre

They give the thumbs up when asked if they’re happy to be heading home pic.twitter.com/TWuHHHaiGD

— Jessica Parker (@MarkerJParker) November 3, 2021

The captain of the formerly detained scallop dredger, Jondy Ward, believes what happened to his ship was "over the top" and alleged that the harsh reaction of the French authorities when they detained the vessel a week ago was prompted by the ongoing feud between Paris and London.

The ship was ordered to dock in Le Havre after French authorities accused the trawler of fishing without a licence in the country's national waters. The owner of the boat later insisted that it was fishing legally. The incident, however, took place hot on the heels of Paris' threat to impose sanctions on the UK over the alleged failure to fulfil its obligations on fishing that were undertaken during the Brexit divorce from the EU.

France claimed that the UK had not issued all the licences for fishing in its waters that it was supposed to, while London denied this. Trying to pressure London to engage in a dialogue, several French officials warned that they might ban British fishing boats from docking and trigger additional measures if the UK does not listen to Paris’ demands.

The fishing row, however, recently took a turn towards a potential resolution after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to work on "practical and operational measures" to end the conflict. However, Johnson was quick to clarify that the UK has no plans to make any concessions in the potential negotiations with France on fishing.