Home Office chiefs are spending £1.2m a year to hire boats for Channel

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SAM GREEHILL, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 23:11 BST, 28 May 2026 | Updated: 23:14 BST, 28 May 2026

Desperate Home Office chiefs are spending millions on new boats and repairs to its existing fleet as the English Channel migrant crisis is set to continue for years.They are paying £1.259million to rent the crewed rigid hull inflatable boats (RIBs) for a year, with the option to extend for a further 24 months.The deal includes accommodation and food for crews who will man the vessels in round-the-clock eight-hour shifts.They have also signed a £1.6million three-year deal to repair other RIBs and tactical boats already in operation.And last month the Government hired four catamarans at a cost of £30million over three years to pick up stranded migrants from flimsy boats as they try to reach the UK from France.The new RIBs are to support the larger catamarans as the improved weather sees the number of crossings increase, with almost 1,000 migrants arriving from France over the bank holiday weekend.Details of the new RIB deal for the Home Office’s Border Security Command show the function of the vessels is to ensure anyone who enters the water is recovered. The Home Office is spending £1.259million to rent the crewed rigid hull inflatable boats (RIBs) for a year, with the option to extend for a further 24 months Almost 1,000 migrants came over from France on small boats during the bank holiday weekendContract details reveal the 8.5m crafts must have capacity to carry at least 20 ‘recovered casualties’ to be transferred to larger search and rescue boats, but on occasions return them to land.Another function is to track migrant vessels if they refuse to stop, and they need to be able to maintain a steady 20 knots speed with the capability of hitting 40 knots in short bursts.A section on procedures under the heading ‘Saving of Life and Salvage’ is completely redacted, as are three pages giving specifications of the vessels.The four new catamarans – BSC Enterprise, BSC Contender, BSC Courageous and BSC Intrepid – are said to be more modern than their predecessors and provide more space for migrants.Home Office officials claim the upgraded 79ft by 29ft vessels are better value for money, with each able to carry up to 80 migrants.This month the number arriving illegally in the UK via the treacherous Channel route hit 200,000 since the crisis began eight years ago.Keir Starmer has promised to end the trade and vowed to ‘smash the gangs’ which aid the crossings. But so far he has had little impact, with only 7,612 migrants being deported.