Further Statement on Incident at Sea - RGP Recover Vessel from Guardia Civil and Arrest Local Man

Further to its earlier statement this evening, the Government is now able to set out the facts of the incident as established by the Royal Gibraltar Police and HM Customs.

At about 6.05pm today, the Royal Gibraltar Police received information from a member of the public that a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel was towing a vessel that had been abandoned within Gibraltar Harbour after its occupants had jumped ashore by Peter Isola Promenade.

RGP land and marine assets responded immediately. The crew of the RGP Marine Section interceptor Sir Francis Richards recovered the abandoned vessel from the Guardia Civil within British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

The abandoned vessel, which is Spanish registered, and a second Spanish registered vessel crewed by two persons had been pursued by the Spanish authorities into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters for their alleged involvement in migrant smuggling.

During the course of the incident, RGP officers arrested a 19 year old local man on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration. Officers of the HM Customs Marine Unit stopped the second vessel and detained its two occupants while the vessel was searched and documentation was checked, after which they were released.

The man arrested by the RGP and the vessel recovered by the RGP remain in police custody. The investigation is ongoing.

The Government notes that the vessels concerned were being pursued on suspicion of a serious offence. That does not alter the position that Guardia Civil vessels have no jurisdiction in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, and that the proper course in such cases is to alert Gibraltar's law enforcement agencies, who are fully capable of acting, as they did today.

HM Government of Gibraltar and Gibraltar's law enforcement agencies stand ready to cooperate and coordinate with the law enforcement agencies of Spain in tackling illegal migration and people smuggling. When Gibraltar's authorities are not notified, that cooperation cannot take place.

The Government thanks the officers of the RGP and HM Customs for their swift response, and the member of the public who reported the incident.