UK Jails South Sudanese Teen for Steering Overcrowded Migrant Boat Across Channel
LONDON — A 19-year-old South Sudanese asylum seeker has been sentenced to two years and three months in a British prison for steering an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel, the latest prosecution under a new law aimed at people who pilot boats used to smuggle migrants into Britain.
Chan Mathok Atak was sentenced Friday at Canterbury Crown Court in southeast England after admitting a charge of endangering others during the crossing from France.
The law, introduced in January, targets people who steer boats in ways that put passengers’ lives at risk. It is separate from older charges such as assisting unlawful immigration.
Prosecutors said Atak was believed to be one of two people who took turns piloting the roughly 14-meter (46-foot) dinghy—about the length of a bus—for at least 90 minutes on July 23. The boat carried 165 people, including 31 children between the ages of 14 and 17.
At the time, it was the largest number recorded on a single small-boat crossing of the Channel. A boat carrying 230 people later surpassed that record in August.
Migrants are seen aboard a boat operated by Chan Mathok Atak during the crossing of the English Channel on July 23, 2026. (Handout/National Crime Agency via Reuters)
The court heard that the dinghy had only one working engine and no navigation or first-aid equipment. It was deflating and slowly taking on water before it was intercepted by Border Force.
No evidence was presented that Atak organized the crossing. But Judge Sarah Counsell said the offense was serious enough that “only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified,” and warned that he could still face automatic deportation once his sentence ends.
Atak’s lawyer, Audrey Mogan, said there was “not a single shred of evidence” linking him to the boat’s overcrowding or its lack of safety equipment. She described her client as a young asylum seeker who had fled violence in South Sudan.
The sentencing has been seen as part of the British government’s wider crackdown on migration and Channel crossings. The first convictions under the new law took place in June, when an Afghan national and a Sudanese national were each jailed for at least two years for similar offenses.
The UK has been looking for ways to deter the tens of thousands of people who attempt the crossing each year. Home Office Minister Anna Turley said in July that “if you risk the lives of others by bringing illegal migrants to British shores on dangerous small boats, you will face justice.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs in February that the level of crossings was “unacceptable,” saying tackling it would take “long-term, careful, painful work.”
Hundreds of protesters gathered over two days on England’s south coast earlier this month, blocking streets in response to small migrant boat arrivals. The demonstrations came even as government figures show the number of people crossing into the country since January has fallen compared with 2025.
The case underscores the political and legal pressure surrounding the Channel. Ministers have presented prosecutions as a deterrent, while defense arguments have focused on whether individual migrants are being held responsible for journeys organized by others. In Atak’s case, his lawyer said he was not linked to the overcrowding or missing safety equipment.