SUPERMARKET bosses in Jersey warned the shelves will be empty by Saturday unless the Royal Navy can stop French trawlers blockading the island’s port.
Stocks of bread, fruit, fresh meat and vegetables will be gone if freight ships cannot deliver their crucial daily supplies, CEO of Jersey Co-op Mark Cox said.
Read our Jersey stand-off live blog for the very latest updates
Supermarket bosses have warned shelves will be empty by Saturday
People on board the vessels were seen setting off flares as tensions continued to rise this morning – with the Royal Navy lurking in the background
Mr Cox said the island is relying on the Royal Navy ships HMS Severn and HMS Tamar to make sure the French boats back off.
The last freight ship, Commodore Goodwill, arrived in Jersey at 4.30am and there is another scheduled for tonight, but supermarket chiefs fear it may not get through.
Mr Cox told HOAR: “The port is a lifeline to the island and it is absolutely critical that the freight vessels can get into the port.
“It’s vital that those routes are kept clear, the shelves will be bare within two days if the port is blocked.
“It’s the short dated products and the fresh food which will go first such as bread, vegetables, fresh meat and fruit.
“While we do grow food here, it’s not enough to service the island as a whole.
“At this stage we are reliant on the Royal Navy to keep the freight ships coming into the island on a daily basis.”
It comes as today a French Navy patrol boat raced to Jersey as tensions rise after the Royal Navy was called to the “act of war” blockade by 100 ships.
Angry French fishermen set off flares as dozens of boats began steaming in just after 6am as the huge row over post-Brexit fishing rights intensifies.
Two Royal Navy gunships – HMS Severn and HMS Tamar – dramatically stepped in this morning after being deployed by Boris Johnson following the threat of a French blockade.
They are armed with a 20mm cannon, which can fire 700 rounds a minute at a range of 1300 yards, and can travel at up to 20 knots.
Tense video footage shows one of the gunships keeping watch and patrolling the harbour as French vessels protest near the capital Saint Helier.
But just before 9am, Emmanuel Macron sent Navy patrol vessel Athos to the island in a dramatic twist.
Tensions are flaring up near Jersey this morning as fishermen almost clash as the heated row regarding fishing rights intensifes
Dramatic footage captured this morning shows French vessels setting off flares near Jersey
But in a dramatic twist, a French Navy patrol vessel (far right) raced to the tiny island following the arrival of HMS Severn (far left) and HMS Tamar (bottom left)
The French 95ft patrol vessel is less than half of the size of each of the Royal Navy gunships.
Marine traffic data maps show their vessel heading towards the island from the east – while the British ships are currently patrolling the south west side.
NAVY STEPS IN
Locals said tensions are running “very high” today as footage shows boats descending on the small island – just 14 miles from the French coast.
Jersey fisherman Josh Dearing described the scene at the port of St Helier on Thursday morning as “like an invasion”.
The 28-year-old said: “There were a few hand-held flares and smoke flares going off and apparently a few maybe bangers and stuff going off from the French.”
He said the French fleet was mostly made up of “big French dredgers and trawlers” of about 12 metres or more.
Mr Dearing added: “It was quite a sight. It was impressive, I looked from the shore this morning and it was just like a sea of red lights and flares already going off at sea. It was like an invasion.”
What we know so far:
- Around 100 French vessels descend on Jersey just after 6am
- French fishermen were seen setting off flares near the harbour
- They are protesting over new post-Brexit fishing rights
- Boris Johnson sends two Royal Navy ships to the island
- French Navy sends military ship to Jersey
- UK ministers could be drawing up plans to “retaliate”
He said there had been rumblings about a planned protest a few days ago but he had not been sure if it was “serious or empty threats”.
He added: “The French being the French, they don’t mess around. They can blockade their own harbours – they wouldn’t think twice about coming and doing it to us.”
Mr Dearing said he was “absolutely” pleased to hear on Wednesday night that Royal Navy vessels were being deployed to patrol the waters around Jersey.
He said: “We’re completely unprotected in Jersey. We’ve got nothing except for a few police officers. We don’t have a police boat, we don’t have a navy boat, we don’t have anything to protect us.
“The French can be hostile. All of our livelihoods are in that harbour and if they wanted to they could cause damage.”
Boris’ dramatic move came after French fishermen – backed by Emmanuel Macron’s ministers – vowed to shut off the island unless they could fish more British waters, a threat branded an “act of war”.
The furious spat erupted after the island – which is under Britain’s protection – slapped French trawlers with post-Brexit fishing licence requirements.
Following today’s blockade, UK ministers are now said to be drawing up plans to “retaliate” by reviewing energy links with France.
According to the Telegraph, Britain could buy electricity from the Netherlands instead.
Meanwhile, government sources have accused the French of sinking lower than the island’s Nazi occupiers in the Second World War.
A source told the Telegraph: “At least when the Germans invaded they kept the lights on.”
Another flare is set off by a French fisherman
French fishing boats protest in front of the port of Saint Helier off the British island of Jersey
French fishermen protest on their boat in front of the port of Saint Helier
French fishermen hang a banner as fishing boats protest near Jersey
Dozens of French fishermen descended on Jersey this morning
They are staging a protest following a change to fishing rules
Around 100 vessels arrived in Jersey to protest this morning
A banner on one vessel read: “Don’t change anything let’s stay friends’
A flotilla of fishing vessels is seen in St Helier harbour, Jersey, as French fishermen protest post-Brexit changes to fishing in the area
Meanwhile, French fishing industry leader David Sellam accused the Jersey authorities of being lead “by extremists”.
He said: “All they want is to see the French fishing effort reduced and they profit from Brexit.
“If we want peace, let’s prepare for war… If we want to bring the Jersey fishery to its knees, we can do it.”
The furious cross-Channel bust-up escalated after one of Macron’s key allies threatened to pull the plug on the tiny island’s electricity and French fisherman vowed to blockade ports to cut off food and medicine.
French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin threatened to cut off the island’s power of which 95 per cent is generated on the continent and supplied by three underwater cables.
She blasted: “We are ready to use these retaliation measures. I am sorry it has come to this. We will do so if we have to.”
On Thursday morning, French fishermen were bracing themselves to “restage the battle of Trafalgar” as they prepared to take on the Royal Navy.
Jean-Claude La Vaullée, skipper of Le Cach, said: “I’ve refuelled the boat – we’re ready to restage the Battle of Trafalgar.”
The furious Mr La Vaullée, who has been fishing off Jersey for more than 40 years, said he had now been given the right to “11 hours fishing a year” in the area.
CHANNEL ROW
Ms Girardin on Wednesday accused Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, of refusing to issue adequate new licences to her country’s fishermen.
Bertrand Sorre, France’s English Channel MP, said: “This unilateral decision by Jersey is totally illegal.
“We have been subject to the whims of the United Kingdom for too long. The European Commission must do its job.”
Head of fisheries for the Normandy region, Dimitri Rogoff, said the French fishing vessels launched the blockade as part of a protest against the new rules.
The two Navy vessels have been sent to monitor the situation and protect the islands 100,000 citizens who depend wholly on imports for food, medicine and even electricity.
HMS Severn, which has previously been used to shadow Russian navy warships, arrived near Jersey in the early hours of this morning. HMS Tamar joined shortly after.
Following crisis talks with the island’s leadership, Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister underlined his unwavering support for Jersey.
“He said that any blockade would be completely unjustified. As a precautionary measure the UK will be sending two Offshore Patrol Vessels to monitor the situation.
“They agreed the UK and Jersey Governments would continue to work closely on this issue.”
The Royal Navy ships were first deployed soon after the UK finally departed the EU at the beginning of the year – again to ward off French trawlers.
French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin threatened to cut off the island’s power
HMS Tamar arrived at Jersey this morning
Boris Johnson has been holding crisis talks with the Jersey government
Fishermen on Jersey have slammed French threats to blockade the island
After France warned it would be “brutal and difficult” unless their boats got better access, Britain branded the comments “surprising and disappointing, especially from a close neighbour.”
David Sellam, head of the joint Normany-Brittany sea authority, claimed Jersey had been taken over by an “trustworthy” and “extremist fringe, who want to reduce French fishing access and profit from Brexit”.
“We’re ready for war. We can bring Jersey to its knees if necessary,” he raged.
The UK called the menacing words “surprising and disappointing” – but Jersey boatmen warned blocking St Helier would be an “act of war”.
A government spokesman added: “To threaten Jersey like this is clearly unacceptable and disproportionate.
“This is just the latest example of the EU issuing threats as a first resort at any sign of difficulty.”
As tensions mounted, Boris Johnson was urged to send in Navy observers by the boss of the Commons Defence Committee.
HMS Severn has arrived at the island
Nearly all of the island’s power comes from the continent
Tobias Ellwood slammed France’s “shameful behaviour” and pleaded for calm.
The ex-defence minister added: “It would be wise to dispatch a Royal Navy Off Shore Patrol Vessel to the area to observe and report.”
St Helier is Jersey’s only port, which is narrow and would only take a handful of 150-ton French trawlers to block.
But local fisherman Steve Viney, 55, told HOAR: “It would be an act of war, it would be amazing to see the French try but I think they would be disappointed when they arrived and realised we won’t stand for it.
“The fact that the EU is threatening an island is off the scale, they like to think they are civilised but clearly that’s not true because this is something that Russia or China might do.”
Murray Norton, chief executive of Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said the French have been heavy handed in their threats.
Mr Norton said: “The French threats are disproportionate considering we are talking about only a handful of fishing licences which are in dispute.
The couple were pictured as the diplomatic row with Britain intensified
French fishermen wishing to fish in Jersey must apply for a new licence
Large French boats could easily block Jersey’s only port
Jersey’s external relations minister has been holding talks with the French
Jersey’s External Affairs Minister, Ian Gorst, said the French have made clear their “frustration” over the new Brexit trade deal.
He told BBC News: “There is some frustration in France, and they’ve made it clear to us, around the terms of the new trade deal.
“But we are in a new era of relationship with the European Union. That is governed by the Brexit trade deal and we believe that it can serve our interest as well as the interests of French fishermen into the future.
“We cannot look back to the previous arrangements. They have gone. We must make the new trade deal work in all of our interests.”
No10 said France should lodge a complaint using the dispute mechanism set up in last year’s Brexit deal if it has a problem rather than immediately making threats.
A UK Government spokesman said: “We are working closely with the EU and Jersey on fisheries access provisions following the end of the Transition Period, so trust the French will use the mechanisms of our new treaty to solve problems.”
A Whitehall insider added: “They should be using the mechanisms of our new Treaty to solve problems – that is exactly what it is there for.”
An EU Commission spokesman said today: “The Commission was notified on Friday 30 April by UK authorities of the granting of 41 licences to EU vessels for fishing in Jersey’s territorial waters as of 1 May with specific conditions.
“Under the EU-UKTCA, any proposed management conditions have to be notified in advance to the other party, giving them sufficient time to assess and react to the proposed measures.
“Furthermore any addition of new specific conditions to these fishing authorisations that limit EU fishing activities in UK waters must be comply with the objectives and principles set out in the TCA, which are based on clear scientific rationale.
“Any such conditions must also be non-discriminatory between UK and EU vessels.
“The Commission has clearly indicated to the UK that the provisions of the EU-UKTCA have not been respected.
“Until the UK authorities provide further justifications on the new conditions, these new conditions should not apply.
“The Commission remains in close contact with France and the UK on the matter.”
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