Around 11,884 people crossed from France to the UK in the first six months of 2026, down from nearly 20,000 over the same period last year, as French interdiction pushes smugglers toward larger, overcrowded vessels
Around 11,884 people arrived in the UK by small boat between January and June 2026, down sharply from 2025 as UK-France cooperation tightens and the Darién Gap collapses
The narrowest English Channel crossing between the UK and France, carrying over 400 commercial vessels daily and roughly one-third of UK goods trade with the EU.