Locked up in France for a week for having fished more than two tonnes of scallops without a license, the Scottish trawler Cornelis Gert Jan left the port of Le Havre shortly after 6 p.m., an AFP journalist noted.
The ship cast off after a decision by the Rouen Court of Appeal, which authorized it “to leave Le Havre immediately without having to pay a deposit,” said the lawyer for Captain Me Mathieu Croix. The State had requested the immobilization of the trawler pending the payment of a deposit of 150,000 euros.
Tightening of controls
Built in 1985, the Scottish vessel, a large trawler nearly 36 meters long and eight meters wide, was diverted Wednesday as part of a tightening of controls by the French authorities in the Channel, while France is in dispute with UK over post-Brexit fishing licenses.
“The court seized our argument and canceled the seizure. Vessel [était] free to leave Le Havre immediately without having to pay a deposit, ”explained the lawyer. He was speaking a few hours after a hearing held behind closed doors on Wednesday at the investigative chamber of the Rouen Court of Appeal, in the presence of his client Jondy Ward. Contacted, the court of appeal could not be reached immediately to confirm this decision of the investigating chamber.
To “lower the tension”
In Le Havre, Captain Jondy Ward and seven members of his crew, all smiles, posed in the back of their boat in front of the objectives of journalists, mainly British, before leaving the port around 6 p.m. by activating the siren, noted AFP. “It is a good decision, likely to lower the tension”, welcomed the lawyer. “French justice is independent of the political pressures” which surrounded this file, he added.
The State, through the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea), had requested the immobilization of the trawler pending the payment of a deposit of 150,000 euros. Its purpose was to ensure the presence of the captain, who is due to appear on August 11 to answer for the charge of illegal fishing. This request was “disproportionate” compared to the value of the goods seized, of approximately 5,000 euros according to the lawyer. The captain faces a fine of 75,000 euros and administrative penalties, according to the prosecution.