Teen jailed for steering overcrowded Channel migrant boat

A 19-year-old asylum seeker from South Sudan has been jailed for steering a severely overcrowded dinghy carrying 165 migrants across the English Channel, in one of the latest convictions under a new UK offence targeting small-boat pilots.

Chan Mathok Atak was sentenced Friday at Canterbury Crown Court to two years and three months in prison after admitting endangering others during the July 23 crossing from France. Prosecutors said his actions created a risk of death or serious injury to people on board.

The dinghy carried what was then the largest number of migrants recorded on a single small-boat crossing of the Channel in recent years. That figure was surpassed in August, when 230 people were found on another vessel.

Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was so serious that “only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.” She also warned Atak that, as a foreign national, he was in principle liable to automatic deportation after completing his sentence.

The court heard that the boat, described as roughly the length of a standard bus, measured about 46.9 feet long and 12.8 feet wide. It had two outboard engines, but only one was working. Prosecutors said Atak was seen in 90 minutes of aerial footage piloting the vessel with the remaining engine while wearing a black jacket with an “Italia” logo.

The National Crime Agency said the boat was “severely overcrowded” and had limited food, drinking water and medication. It had been at sea for almost 24 hours before Border Force vessels intercepted it between Calais and the UK. Authorities said it was deflating, slowly taking on water and lacked adequate safety equipment.

There were 31 children on board, with the youngest aged 14. The court heard the vessel had no navigation or first-aid equipment, and that the quality of lifejackets was “completely inadequate.” The NCA also said the fire risk was “considerable” because batteries were close to fuel cans. Footage showed one person “constantly pumping” to try to re-inflate the rigid-hulled inflatable boat.

James Harrison, prosecuting, said there was no evidence Atak had training or experience for such a crossing. “The size of the vessel and the number of people on board presented an obvious danger,” he told the court. “The vessel would have been unstable because of it deflating.” He said the risks “would have been apparent to Atak.”

Harrison said Atak moved away from the engine shortly before interception and removed his jacket in an attempt not to be identified as the helmsman. In interview, Atak said he paid 200 euros, or about £172, to a gang for the crossing but denied steering the boat.

Prosecutors said Atak was believed to have been one of two people who took turns piloting the dinghy, according to Al Jazeera. The court heard no evidence that he organised the crossing.

Defence barrister Audrey Mogan said there was “not a single shred of evidence” that Atak had “anything to do with the number of people on the vessel, the state of the dinghy, or the fact that there were no life jackets or that the jackets were inadequate, or the lack of safety equipment or flares.”

“The idea that he had anything to do with the state of the boat and its overcrowding just flies in the face of reason,” she said. Mogan described Atak as someone who had “escaped the horrors of South Sudan,” where he had seen shootings, people’s throats being cut and militia setting fire to a neighbourhood.

Endangerment at sea became a new offence in January to target people alleged to have steered small boats across the Channel. The BBC reported Atak’s case was the 16th conviction since the offence was created.

NCA senior investigating officer John Turner said Atak was “unimaginably reckless” and that his actions “could have easily resulted in many deaths had this boat not been intercepted.” He added: “Not only did he place the lives of 165 migrants in severe peril, this flimsy vessel was entirely unsuitable for crossing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.”

Anna Turley, the minister for border security and asylum, described Atak as an “evil criminal” and said he joined other pilots sentenced for endangering lives in “flimsy, overcrowded dinghies.” She said the case showed “there is nowhere for them to hide.”