Captain of boat seized by French authorities summoned to face 2022 court hearing

The captain of the British boat seized earlier this week by French authorities, amid a row between London and Paris over post-Brexit fishing licences, will face a court hearing next year, said French authorities on Friday.

Cyrille Fournier, who represents the prosecutor's office for the French port of Le Havre where the boat was seized, said in a statement that the captain of the Cornelis Gert Jan boat had been asked to appear in court on August 11, 2022.

He added that the trawler did not have the required licences to operate in those parts of French territorial waters. This has been denied by Scottish company Macduff Shellfish, which used the boat and has said it did have the appropriate licences.

On Thursday, Britain denounced France's seizure of the British boat and warned Paris against further retaliation, in the rapidly deteriorating row over the post-Brexit fishing rights.

The Cornelis Gert Jan, a scallop dredger, was escorted to the northern port of Le Havre after its crew failed to prove it was allowed to fish in French territorial waters.  

Reuters