The trawler seized by the French in fishing row
Jondy (Patrick John) Ward, from Burtonport, and his crew were detained on board the Cornelis Gert Jan at Le Havre seven days ago in a row over fishing licences post-Brexit.
A spokesman for the boat’s Scottish owners, MacDuff Shellfish said the scallop fishing vessel was detained by French authorities last Wednesday and escorted to the quayside at Le Havre.
It is understood Mr Ward and the Cornelis Gert Jan were accused of fishing in French waters without a licence.
The situation intensified last week with both the French and British governments adopting hard-line stances.
There was confusion yesterday over whether the vessel had been released.
British Environment Secretary George Eustice claimed yesterday morning that the Cornelis Gert Jan had been allowed to leave Le Havre after it was detained over an “administrative error”.
Mr Eustice told Sky News: “I understand the vessel has now been released and I think there’s going to need to be some further discussions, clearly there was an administrative error at some point.
“We haven’t got to the bottom of that but that vessel, I understand, has been released.”
However, MacDuff shellfish director, Andrew Brown contradicted Mr Eustice’s claim.
Mr Brown said: “As far as we are aware, the vessel remains held at the port of Le Havre at least until the hearing.”
The hearing will take place today.
Ship tracking also appeared to show the vessel was still in Le Havre.
The Cornelis Gert Jan’s crew includes Mr Ward, along with three other members from Ireland and Britain and four crew members from Asia and Africa.
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