Laurence Crumbie
A SPANISH Customs boat was escorted from the Bay of Gibraltar after attempting to board a private vessel.
Footage shows the Spanish Aduanas Fenix III approaching a private vessel manned by four people while a Spanish helicopter circles overhead, making the incident an incursion at water and in air.
“We have no doubt about UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and protest incursions to the Spanish authorities,” said the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The Spanish Customs boat was eventually escorted from the scene after a P273 HMS Pursuer got involved; however, it is unclear why it intervened in the first place.
This incident on Monday was one of many. According to the British government, Spain has conducted nearly 4000 such incursions in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters over the past 10 years.
The FCDO said it reports these incursions routinely, though added that they only constitute a violation of – not a threat to – British sovereignty.
The government is currently investigating Monday’s incident.
