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-DW Information
French, Nov 04: A French court docket dominated on Wednesday {that a} British trawler impounded by French authorities may sail for house, overturning an earlier demand that its captain pays a €150,000 ($174,000) bond.
The Cornelis Gert Jan was seized final week. French authorities stated it had been caught fishing over 2 tons of scallops in French territorial waters and not using a correct license.
It left the French northern port of Le Havre simply after 6 p.m. (1700 UTC) Wednesday.
The lawyer for the ship’s captain, Mathieu Croix, stated a court docket within the close by metropolis of Rouen had allowed it to go away with out posting any monetary assure.
The vessel’s captain, Jondy Ward, was additionally current in court docket for the listening to.
“It’s a good resolution, of a form that can permit the tensions to drop,” stated the lawyer. “French justice is impartial from political stress,” he added.
Ship used as ‘political pawn’
Ward stated earlier that the vessel was a pawn in a broader political argument between Paris and London over fishing rights after Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Ship monitoring web site marinetraffic.com confirmed that the vessel was nonetheless moored on Wednesday night within the French port of Le Havre, the place it was impounded. Its declared vacation spot was listed on the location as “FREEDOMMMM.”
“We’re clearly delighted and relieved that the vessel can go away and our crew can get house,” Andrew Brown, a director of the trawler, advised Reuters.
“We’re additionally more than happy the courts haven’t set any bond for the discharge of the vessel. We’re simply relieved that the crew, who stay in good spirits, are in a position to head house,” he added.
Trial set for subsequent yr
The French authorities had initially demanded the €150,000 bond in alternate for permitting the captain and the vessel to go away French jurisdiction pending a trial due in August of 2022.
France and Britain this week got here to the brink of a cross-Channel commerce conflict, with Paris alleging that London was denying fishing licenses to French trawlers that they had been entitled to underneath a post-Brexit deal.
Britain stated it was honoring the deal and accused France of blowing the affair out of proportion. Paris had threatened to step up checks on vehicles and produce arriving from Britain and to bar British trawlers docking in French ports.
Nonetheless, France pulled again on the final minute and now says it’s going to make a brand new try to barter an answer with Britain. Senior British and French officers are set to fulfill for talks on the problem on Thursday.
lc/fb (AFP, Reuters)
Supply: DW
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