The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union confirmed on 13 November 2025 that more than 120 Border Force Maritime officers will stage a 24-hour walk-out on Friday 14 November to protest six years of stalled negotiations over specialist allowances and changes to terms and conditions. The officers crew the UK’s coastal patrol vessels that interdict small-boat crossings, inspect commercial shipping for contraband and support counter-terrorism operations.
Although airports and fixed-site passport control will be unaffected, the strike threatens to leave the English Channel with a “skeleton safety net” during one of the busiest weeks for pre-Christmas freight and passenger ferries. Shipping operators Stena Line and P&O Ferries told customers that delays to embarkation checks and mid-Channel inspections are likely and advised freight forwarders to build in extra time when routing goods through Dover and Folkestone.
![Border Force Maritime Officers Announce 24-Hour Strike, Raising Fears of Channel Disruption]()
The timing is sensitive for the Labour government, whose new “One-In-One-Out” returns agreement with France relies heavily on rapid at-sea processing to deter people-smugglers. Business lobby group Logistics UK warned that any prolonged reduction in patrol capacity could encourage clandestine crossings and increase insurance costs for hauliers operating through Kent, adding that “border workforce relations now pose the same commercial risk as extreme weather.”
From a mobility-management perspective, employers with assignees who routinely transit by ferry or the Channel Tunnel should monitor carrier alerts and consider rerouting via air or the Eurostar should the strike be extended. Immigration lawyers also caution that on-board immigration interviews—common on ferries serving France and the Low Countries—may be suspended, putting greater scrutiny on travellers upon arrival. Companies are urged to remind travelling staff to carry evidence of UK immigration status and to allow for potential questioning at ports.
While PCS says further strikes cannot be ruled out, it has left open the possibility of last-minute talks. A Home Office spokesperson stated that contingency teams and “military maritime assets” are ready to plug gaps but conceded that “some disruption for travellers and cargo operators is unavoidable.”
Although airports and fixed-site passport control will be unaffected, the strike threatens to leave the English Channel with a “skeleton safety net” during one of the busiest weeks for pre-Christmas freight and passenger ferries. Shipping operators Stena Line and P&O Ferries told customers that delays to embarkation checks and mid-Channel inspections are likely and advised freight forwarders to build in extra time when routing goods through Dover and Folkestone.
The timing is sensitive for the Labour government, whose new “One-In-One-Out” returns agreement with France relies heavily on rapid at-sea processing to deter people-smugglers. Business lobby group Logistics UK warned that any prolonged reduction in patrol capacity could encourage clandestine crossings and increase insurance costs for hauliers operating through Kent, adding that “border workforce relations now pose the same commercial risk as extreme weather.”
From a mobility-management perspective, employers with assignees who routinely transit by ferry or the Channel Tunnel should monitor carrier alerts and consider rerouting via air or the Eurostar should the strike be extended. Immigration lawyers also caution that on-board immigration interviews—common on ferries serving France and the Low Countries—may be suspended, putting greater scrutiny on travellers upon arrival. Companies are urged to remind travelling staff to carry evidence of UK immigration status and to allow for potential questioning at ports.
While PCS says further strikes cannot be ruled out, it has left open the possibility of last-minute talks. A Home Office spokesperson stated that contingency teams and “military maritime assets” are ready to plug gaps but conceded that “some disruption for travellers and cargo operators is unavoidable.”
