Frontex has deployed the Spanish Guardia Civil offshore patrol vessel "Duque de Ahumada" to the French coast to support search and rescue (SAR) operations involving small boats crossing the English Channel. The vessel began operating in early September and is due to be replaced by the "Río Segura" later in September. A Lithuanian coastal patrol vessel is scheduled to operate in the area from November 2026 to January 2027. The deployment complements a Frontex surveillance aircraft that has been operating over the Channel since 2021.

The vessels will operate as part of the French SAR arrangements coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Gris-Nez, under the authority of the Maritime Prefect for the Channel and the North Sea. They will contribute to maritime situational awareness by detecting, verifying and tracking small boats and transmitting information to the French authorities in real time. National authorities remain responsible for law enforcement and search and rescue in their respective waters. Frontex emphasises that its role in this deployment is limited to supporting French SAR operations and that it will not participate in maritime interception operations.

The deployment is part of Joint Operation France and the third Multipurpose Maritime Operation (MMO), a broader cooperation framework aimed at strengthening maritime safety and security in the Channel and the North Sea. The MMO brings together France, Belgium and the Netherlands, alongside Frontex, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA). 

For further details, please consult the Frontex press release and the press release of the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.