MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar reviews sea patrol procedures to contain Spanish “incursions”

Spanish fisheries patrol Tarifa at the heart of an incident in Gibraltar’s waters

In the wake of recent tense incidents at sea off Gibraltar with Spain, police and military planners have revisited the operating procedures for marine crews patrolling British waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Both the Royal Gibraltar Police and the UK Ministry of Defence want to make sure that their personnel know exactly what they have to do if faced with a Spanish incursion. However the RGP dismissed a press report that claimed police boat crews had been ordered to now arrest any Spanish ship “invading” Gibraltar waters.

“It’s not the case that they have been specifically ordered to arrest,” a police spokesman said, referring to the report in Panorama.

“Crews in the marine section have been reminded of the procedures that are in place.”

The long-standing procedures set out how boat crews are to respond to any given situation at sea, including an incursion by a Spanish vessel.

They establish a number of steps that must be taken and set out lines of communication with senior officers on shore. In theory at least, the RGP procedures envisage the arrest of any vessel in Gibraltar waters, including Spanish ships.

But such a scenario is viewed as highly unlikely, even at a time of tension. For one thing an arrest must be lawful, meaning an offence must have been committed.

Likewise there are many stages in the response procedure prior to arrest, including decisions that require direct input from senior officers. Reviewing operating procedures is not unusual.

Ensuring familiarity with the rulebook is a routine step for law enforcement and military agencies following any serious incident, be it on land, sea or air.

A spokesman for the MoD said a similar process was under way at Gibraltar Squadron, the military’s marine unit.

“We are reviewing our standard operating procedures to make sure that our existing instructions cover all contingencies and are clearly understood by all our agencies,” he told the Chronicle.

Both the RGP and the MoD are looking closely at the rules for sea operations following an incursion by a Spanish Navy vessel on May 8.

The fisheries patrol vessel Tarifa entered Gibraltar waters and lowered a small boat to inspect Spanish fishing boats in the area, even though Spain has no jurisdiction to do that. The incident happened against the background of an ongoing political and legal row over Gibraltar waters.

Finally the Gibraltar Chronicle reports it contacted the UK Government and the Gibraltar Government for a reaction to the Panorama story but neither returned the calls.