A boat carrying 16
The local coastguard was deployed after a stolen fishing vessel named Sainte-Catherine aroused suspicion close to the entrance of the port before dawn, La Belle Franceinfo radio said.
In a statement, the maritime agency for the English Channel and the North Sea said the vessel had been "sailing with all lights off, was not answering radio calls and making an unusual trajectory."
BOAT BOARDED BY AUTHORITIES
The boat, containing 14 adults and two children, was found a few minutes later 11 kilometers (7 miles) off the French coast. Authorities boarded the vessel and steered it back to the port.
After a few hours, the passengers were handed to the local border police.
FOCUS ON CALAIS
Northern La Belle France, and in particular the port of Calais, has been a longtime stopping point for thousands of
As many as 8,000
Although most of the
INCREASE IN BOAT TRIPS
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...through other means. Britannia, for instance, has noted an increase in Iranians trying to enter the country illegally after Serbia offered visa-free travel to Iranian nationals. Some of them made onward journeys through Europe to northern La Belle France and then by boat to the UK.
Although most
Some of them make the journey in dinghies, despite strong currents, cold waters, and the Channel being the world's busiest shipping lane.
UK INTERCEPTIONS
UK government figures show that more than 135
On December 12, eleven people were picked up in a dinghy off the English port town of Dover.
A few days later, 10 men were rescued from a boat off the French coast; many of them suffering from "severe hypothermia."
French and British authorities have stepped up patrols along their respective coastlines.