A vessel roughly the same size as a standard British bus carried a record 165 migrants across the Channel to the UK on Thursday (July 23). It was described in many reports as a 'mega dinghy', although it is not so much the size of the vessels that are increasing, rather the amount of migrants crammed on to a single vessel. The previous record of migrants on a single boat was 128, reported the BBC.

The UK's Press Association (PA) captured photographs of the Border Security Command towing the boat, after it arrived in the coastal town of Dover on Thursday afternoon. The vessel was estimated to be approximately 13 meters in length.

Not long after, UK authorities charged Chan M.A., 19, from South Sudan "with endangering another" during a sea crossing, the National Crime Agency reported on Saturday (July 25).

The Sudanese national is alleged to have "piloted" the boat from France to the UK on Thursday and is currently being detained. He is set to appear at Margate Magistrates' Court today (July 27).

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Channel becoming 'more and more dangerous'

Migrant charity Care4Calais warned that the English Channel route is becoming "more and more dangerous" because of the growing number of people being transported in individual boats.

"The UK and French governments have spent years focusing on border security and enforcement, yet all they’ve achieved is to make Channel crossings more and more dangerous," Sydney Sopher, chief operations officer of the organization, said.

"Just days ago a body was found on the beach in Berck, the latest victim of the hostile environment against refugees carried out by both nations. These are preventable tragedies," Sopher added.

"The data shows that the average number of people crossing on single boats has been increasing year on year, but it could all be stopped overnight by opening safe routes. That the government continues to ignore the unequivocal evidence that safe routes work, is a political choice that prioritizes the demonization of refugees over compassion."

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Warmer and calmer waters attract more crossings

According to Home Office data, 366 people arrived after crossing the Channel in three boats on Thursday, with the journeys taking place during warm, sunny weather and calm sea conditions. 103 migrants are recorded to have arrived on Friday and 240 on Saturday (July 25).

“Smuggling gangs are taking greater risks than ever with the number of people they are cramming into unseaworthy boats rising year on year," a Home Office spokesperson said. "This is exactly why we have signed a new deal with the French to prevent these perilous journeys by boosting enforcement action on beaches, building on the over 45,000 attempted crossings stopped since the election."

Also on Thursday, the UK Coastguard said Border Force vessels, a UK Coastguard aircraft and the RNLI Dungeness lifeboat, responded to "small boats activity" in the Channel in the morning.

Last Wednesday, 172 people crossed the Channel in three boats, ending an 11-day pause caused by strong winds.

According to the UK Home Office, 13,007 arrivals have been recorded so far this year, a 45 percent decrease compared with the number recorded at the same point last year and an 18 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2024.

France has for many years served as an important departure point for migrants seeking to cross the Channel in the hope of building a new life in the UK. 

Authorities in neighboring Belgium, meanwhile, have also raised concerns over a new, though still limited, trend of migrants attempting to leave from Belgian shores towards England.

With PA Media, dpa and AFP