Ending irregular migration across the English Channel is a process, not an event. In fact, given its stubborn nature, it may never prove possible to completely “stop the boats” in a literal sense. It is a cat-and-mouse phenomenon, in which the authorities and the criminal gangs are constantly trying to outflank and outsmart each other with new techniques and tactics.
Hence the evolution of the inflatable craft deployed to move asylum seekers across the English Channel. The latest record is 230 people crammed into a “mega-dinghy” – 15 metres long (49ft), and buckling under the weight.
