RNLI Disables Lifeboat AIS Trackers to Protect Crews from Harassment During Channel Rescue

The RNLI has switched off the automatic identification system transponders on two of its lifeboats after anti-immigration protesters used the publicly available vessel-tracking data to locate and film crews during a migrant rescue in the English Channel.

Lifeboats from Eastbourne and Hastings responded to a crossing that had lasted more than 36 hours before reaching British waters. Around 60 migrants were transferred to a Border Security Command vessel and taken to Dover. An independent rescue boat in Hastings reported being tracked and filmed by protesters who followed the operation using freely available AIS feeds.

The charity confirmed the step in a statement: "The safety of our crews is our priority and in the current climate - when they have become targets of abuse for saving lives at sea - we took a decision to switch off AIS for our two lifeboats temporarily as a precaution."

The move marks a concrete operational shift after months of escalating pressure on RNLI volunteers. Portsmouth lifeboat station has been closed since 7 September while the charity carries out a crew safety review, an unusual step for one of the busiest Channel rescue ports. Portsmouth had already been targeted by far-right protesters in a series of demonstrations earlier this month.

Daniel Thomas, known online as Danny Tommo, was charged with criminal damage after allegedly slashing a migrant dinghy while a French rescue worker was still aboard; he entered a not-guilty plea at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on 25 September.

The three operations are part of a wider pattern of Channel rescue activity that has intensified this week. Earlier in September, two RNLI lifeboats helped intercept a 60-person dinghy crossing that had spent more than 24 hours at sea, and lifeboats from Hastings and Eastbourne were part of a larger response that ended with six arrests at Gosport.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the AIS decision, arguing the government should concentrate on deportations rather than limiting the visibility of rescue operations. The RNLI said the shutoff was temporary and that it would keep reviewing its approach as the situation in the Channel continues.