A growing number of migrants are attempting to reach the UK by departing from the Belgian coast, showing a shift in smuggling routes along the English Channel.
While the overall figures remain relatively low, authorities say the trend is clearly increasing.
According to Belgian police spokesperson An Berger, there have already been 17 such departures this year, compared with no more than two annually since 2021. Although still far below the numbers recorded along the French coast, the rise is still significant enough to raise concern.
Experts attribute this change primarily to tighter security measures in France.
Chris Borowski, spokesperson for the European Union agency Frontex, said intensified French coastal patrols are pushing smugglers to adapt their strategies. One method involves so-called “taxi boats”: Vessels that leave from Belgian beaches with a small group before travelling along the coastline to pick up additional migrants in France and then continuing towards the UK.
Migrants typically pay around €2,000 for these crossings, with no guarantee of boarding a boat. In one recent incident, volunteers rescued 19 people from a sinking dinghy off the coast of De Haan during a night-time operation, with only one person wearing a life jacket.
Belgian coastal authorities have also reported increased activity further north. In Blankenberge, six suspected migrants were recently found hiding in dunes, believed to be waiting for an opportunity to cross.
Similar discoveries, including a faulty dinghy found between Blankenberge and Zeebrugge, suggest that smuggling networks are expanding their operations along the coast to avoid heightened surveillance in the West.
Police operations have intensified in response. Officers, supported by drones and a federal police helicopter equipped with thermal cameras, have been monitoring coastal areas and nature reserves.
“It makes it easier to track migrants from the air,” said Police Commissioner Jan Maertens.
The Belgium-UK route remains marginal compared to the main France-UK corridor, where around 41,500 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year. With calmer weather approaching, though, officials expect more attempts in the coming months.
Belgian migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt warned that even small increases are troubling: “Every boat that departs is one too many.”
