6/13
There is another aspect that receives almost no attention.
The English Channel is not an isolated operational area.
It is one of the busiest commercial waterways in the world, with hundreds of merchant ships transiting every day.
#MerchantNavy 7/13
Every one of those merchant ships is commanded by a Master with independent legal obligations under SOLAS, UNCLOS and the Search and Rescue Convention.
If people enter the water, those obligations do not disappear because the incident began as border enforcement.
#SOLAS #UNCLOS 8/13
Imagine a migrant boat capsizes during an interception.
At that moment the operation changes character. It is no longer simply an immigration incident.
It has become a search and rescue incident involving every suitably placed vessel capable of rendering assistance.
#SearchAndRescue