Captain of boat seized by French authorities summoned to face 2022 court hearing
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The French Gendarmerie patrol boat Athos and a British trawler Cornelis Gert Jan are seen moored in the port of Le Havre on Oct 28, 2021.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS (REUTERS) - The captain of the British boat seized earlier this week by French authorities, amid a row between London and Paris over post-Brexit fishing licences, will face a court hearing next year, said the French authorities on Friday (Oct 29).
Mr Cyrille Fournier, who represents the prosecutor's office for the French port of Le Havre where the boat was seized, said in a statement that the captain of the Cornelis Gert Jan boat had been asked to appear in court on Aug 11, 2022.
He added that the trawler did not have the required licences to operate in those parts of French territorial waters.
This has been denied by Scottish company Macduff Shellfish, which used the boat and has said it did have the appropriate licences.
On Thursday, Britain denounced France's seizure of the British boat and warned Paris against further retaliation, in the rapidly deteriorating row over post-Brexit fishing rights.
The Cornelis Gert Jan, a scallop dredger, was escorted to the northern port of Le Havre after its crew failed to prove it was allowed to fish in French territorial waters.
