Fall in small boat Channel crossings down to law enforcement, agency says
Fall in small boat Channel crossings down to law enforcement, agency says. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The number of small boat crossings is down more than 40% this yearByJoshua AskewSouth EastPublished15 September 2026, 10:00 BSTUpdated 4 hours agoLaw enforcement activity has been a "key factor" in reducing the number of small boat Channel crossings, the National Crime Agency (NCA) says.
What happened
Related topicsUK immigrationEnglish ChannelNational Crime AgencyFranceMigrationCalais migrant crisisDoverMore on this storySmall boat attempts continue from Belgium's beachesPublished7 March 'Migrants risk hypothermia on longer boat crossings'Published22 June Record 230 people cross Channel in one small boatPublished10 AugustRelated internet linksNational Crime Agency Image source, National Crime AgencyImage caption, Adem Savas is thought to have supplied equipment used in about half of all small boat crossings in 2023In August, the Home Office credited police in France with intercepting 185 potential crossings involving 4,300 migrants this summer over four separate weeks, as well as stopping 12 boats at sea using new techniques.
However, Mihnea Cuibus, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford University's Migration Observatory, says it is "impossible" to disentangle the effects of government policy and other factors on small boat arrivals. Click to expand Tap the questions below How many people cross the English Channel in small boats? Between 1 January and 14 September 2026, a total of 17,425 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.
See more key stats on hotels, small boats and asylum The NCA also pointed to activity targeting people smugglers as having reduced small boat crossings.
The wider picture
"This is likely to lead, with a lag, to fewer unauthorised crossings to the UK, since most small boat migrants travel through the EU before reaching beaches in northern France," it added. Home Office figures show a total of 41,472 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in 2025. In 2025, there were 24 confirmed deaths related to Channel crossings, down from 73 the year before, according to the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. The NCA said the drop followed a "significant increase in arrests and seizures", although added "fluctuating demand" for crossings, and the French authorities preventing boat launches had also played a role.
It added it could not publish its report on small boats in full because it contained sensitive intelligence. Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Small boat arrivals made up 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 to June 2026. Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier.
What has been reported
In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,335 people who arrived by small boat were found to be potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office. "Our message to the gangs is clear – moving people in small boats and supplying equipment gets riskier for you by the day," he continued. The number of people arriving in the UK in the first half of 2026 was down 41% on the year before, government figures show.
While recent policy changes appear to have led smugglers and migrants to alter their behaviour, Cuibus says fewer unauthorised arrivals into the EU and developments in key origin countries – such as improved security in Syria – may be partially behind the decline. The Conservatives have previously said the weather played a huge role in the fluctuating numbers of crossings from France and Belgium. NCA director general of operations Rob Jones said the agency was "devoting more resources to tackling organised immigration crime than ever before".
"We must continue to keep up the pressure on these criminal gangs, as they continue to put lives at risk in the Channel. "'More difficult'The NCA said organised crime groups had been affected by "supply constraints" on vital equipment used in crossings.
What happens next
More than 1,600 boats or engines have been seized by the authorities since late 2023, it said. The NCA said a "number of key suppliers" had also been targeted, including the jailing of Adem Savas who reportedly supplied equipment used in about half of all crossings in 2023. This was down by 44% on the same period the previous year. These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020. Boats that arrived in the UK from 15 September 2025 to 14 September 2026 carried an average of 68 people.
At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN). The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.