Dutch appeal to UK for help after migrants’ empty rubber dinghies wash ashore

At least five empty dinghies used by migrants were found in Dutch waters last week. At least one boat still had personal belongings on board, including money and medicine. The Koninklijke Marechaussee has asked the British authorities for information, a spokesperson said to NH Nieuws.

The Koninklijke Marechuassee (KMar) is a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security. It wants to know whether these empty dinghies form part of ongoing investigations into people smuggling via the North Sea. It would also like clarity about a marking on one rubber boat and the background of the intercepted people.

“There are ongoing investigations into this. We have been particularly busy with this in recent years. Smugglers are all inventing ways to get migrants to England. Last year we also found a few empty boats like now in the autumn. We suspect that this is due to the wind direction, and they drift here. But it is remarkable. We, therefore, want to know whether these boats fit in an ongoing investigation into smugglers,” KMar spokesperson Robert van Kapel said to the broadcaster.

The KMar contacted the British authorities for information because they intercept most of the migrant dinghies, mark them with a code, and release them to the sea, according to the broadcaster.

At least one of the dinghies had a code spray painted on it. The Dutch rescue organization KNRM told NH Nieuws that the code is meant to show that the people on the dinghy had been intercepted by the British or French authorities so the KNRM doesn’t have to look for drowning victims. But the KMar couldn’t say exactly what the code means. “Presumably, it is an indication of where the migrants were found. But we have now also asked for information about this,” Van Kapel said.

One of the small rubber boats contained personal belongings, including a necklace with the Afghan flag, Albanian money, and medication bought in Iran. It seems strange that migrants intercepted and rescued by the authorities would leave their money and medicine behind. The KMar also asked for information about the people on board.