Record 230 Migrants Crammed Onto a Single Boat to Reach Britain

A new record has been set in the English Channel: a single small boat carried 230 migrants to the UK — the largest number of people ever found aboard one vessel since records began. Smugglers are cutting the number of crossings to avoid the attention of French authorities, but they are packing more and more people into each boat.

Fewer Crossings, More People Per Boat

According to the UK Home Office, 12,439 migrants arrived in Britain on small boats in the first half of this year — 41% fewer than in the same period last year, and the lowest figure since 2020. Even so, the average number of people crammed onto each individual boat keeps climbing.

One of the most dangerous incidents occurred in early August, when a boat carrying 173 people capsized in the Channel after its engine caught fire. French vessels, along with a boat from the British charity RNLI, carried out the rescue operation. Migrants typically set off from the Pas-de-Calais region, attempting to cross from France to the British coast.

UK-France Agreement

In April this year, the UK and France signed a three-year agreement aimed at reducing the number of migrants reaching British shores on small, undocumented boats. Under the deal, France will boost its coast guard staff by more than half, while Britain will provide additional funding to support the effort.

"The number of officers fully dedicated to this task is rising from 900 to 1,400. That's an extraordinary increase," French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said at the time. Even so, policing the coastline — even with the help of drones — remains a daunting task, as smugglers operate through a sprawling network of intermediaries and organise crossings with remarkable speed. Over the past year alone, 41,500 migrants have arrived in Britain on small boats.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz