A British fishing vessel was subjected to a dangerous and prolonged attack by an EU fishing boat whilst operating in UK waters off the Shetland coast.
The incident, which lasted nearly an hour, saw the EU vessel deliberately targeting the British fishermen in what one crew member described as scenes "that would not be out of place in a Hollywood action movie".
In an exclusive investigation by the UK Fisheries Campaign in association with Facts4EU and GB News, the incident comes just eight days before the 'EU reset', where it's feared Sir Keir Starmer will sell out British fisheries to get an EU defence deal over the line.
The German-registered, Spanish-crewed vessel reportedly spotted the British boat on radar from approximately 10 miles away before setting course at full speed towards it.
Shocking moment EU boat attacks British fishermen in horror ordeal
The UK Fisheries Campaign
"They broke all the rules of the sea and it's no exaggeration to say they could have sunk us," said one of the British fishermen aboard the vessel.
The attack occurred approximately 30 miles west of Shetland in the north-east Atlantic, leaving the crew with "no immediate prospect of rescue" had they sunk.
The EU vessel, identified as the Pesorsa Dos, engaged in reckless manoeuvres around the British fishing boat.
A fisherman on watch described how the foreign vessel came dangerously close. "He was coming so close to us you could step aboard him, approx 8-10ft away on a few occasions," he said.
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The attack occurred approximately 30 miles west of Shetland in the north-east Atlantic
The UK Fisheries Campaign
The Pesorsa Dos circled the British boat while trailing a rope behind it. This was a deliberate attempt to "feed it into our propeller," according to the British crew member.
Throughout the ordeal, the master of the EU vessel would "regularly come out on deck and shout obscenities" at the British fishermen. The British crew alerted the Coastguard as the situation escalated."
The Pesorsa Dos was breaking all the navigational rules of the sea vessels should keep a safe distance from one another," the fisherman explained.
"If he had collided with us it could easily have resulted in the sinking of our vessel, putting lives at risk," the fisherman continued.
The crew, who had young families, were particularly concerned about their safety given their remote location.
"We were working in an area where we traditionally always have done, around 30 miles west of Shetland out in the Atlantic," explained one fisherman.
He described first spotting the vessel on radar: "I saw on the radar the Pesorsa Dos steaming at full speed from around 12 miles away pointing directly at us."
Despite the severity of the incident, UK authorities took no meaningful action
The UK Fisheries Campaign
Despite attempting to prevent the confrontation, their warnings went unheeded: "I called him on the VHF and warned him to keep his distance from us, but it made no difference. I then alerted our Skipper and the rest of the crew."
Despite the severity of the incident, UK authorities took no meaningful action.
"Marine Scotland's Fisheries Protection vessel Jura went alongside Pesorsa Dos after this, but they didn't even bother to board him," the fisherman revealed.
"Pesorsa Dos then went to Irish waters soon after this, where she was boarded and arrested by the Irish Fisheries Police for serious Fisheries offences," said the crew member.
The incident resulted in significant penalties being imposed by Irish authorities: "The vessel's owner and Master being heavily fined by Irish Authorities, yet our Authorities did absolutely nothing," the fisherman added.
The Pesorsa Dos was licensed to fish in UK waters by the UK's Single Issuing Authority at the time of the incident.
