British Ships Dispatched to Jersey Due to Dispute with France
Lying off the coast of Normandy, the island of Jersey, a self-governing British Crown dependency, is rarely of much concern to anyone who isn’t adamant on listing off fun facts about it.
- The island is the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by Germany during World War II
- It was originally connected to land and became an island around 6,000 years ago.
- Jersey accepts British pounds but also has its own currency.
This status quo was suddenly disrupted by a fishing dispute with France. As an interim agreement governing fishing access and licenses came to an end, the island’s government began granting permits for access to its waters. The island issued its first 41 permits on 30 April allowing French fishing vessels to operate in Jersey waters. However, following complaints by fishermen over difficulties in acquiring the licenses and accusations of unreasonable requirements being in place for their acquisition, the French government threatened to take action against the island.
Maritime Minister Annick Girardin called the new licensing policy unacceptable and threatened retaliatory measures. Eventually, the possibility of electricity from France being cut off was brought up. As France provides the island with 95% of its power, this is a significant threat to the island.
While Jersey’s Minister for External Relations Ian Gorst acknowledged that France and European Union are unhappy with the current license situation, he stressed that the government is taking the complaints seriously and defended Jersey’s actions:
“the Government of Jersey has acted on legal advice, in good faith, and with due regard to non-discriminatory and scientific principles at every stage of these proceedings.”
On 5 May, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged support for the island and criticized the French response. The offshore patrol vessels HMS Severn and HMS Tamar, which often provide fishery protection support, were dispatched towards Jersey. The ships belong to the River class although there are slight differences between the two due to the first being built as part of an earlier batch of vessels. Bahrain, Brazil and Thailand also operate River class vessels. Tensions continue and the Royal Navy’s intervention could be seen as inflammatory by France.
In response the Marine National have deployed the Maritime Gendarmerie patrol boat Athos and Affaires Maritime patrol boat Themis to the area to monitor the situation. At around 1300, local time, the French fishing vessels blockading the island’s harbour returned to port. The dispute, however, remains ongoing.