Small boats like this one in Gravelines have mainly launched from France in recent years
Dover MP Mike Tapp says smugglers will keep adapting after it was discovered that a boat stopped in the Channel with 38 migrants on board had launched from the Netherlands.
Prosecutors have confirmed the vessel that was found floating with no engine near Cadzand on Saturday had entered the water from Dutch territory.
This year crossings have already been attempted along a wider stretch of coast from Belgium to Normandy.
The UK government said that overall crossings were down significantly this year.
"As launch disruptions grow, the criminal gangs will adapt and a part of that will be finding new launch locations and methods," said Tapp.
"That means our operational efforts must also be agile.
"We have seen a significant reduction in crossings this year, but we still have a long way to go."
Bastiaan van Blokland from the Netherlands Red Cross said the crossing was "unusual"
Bastiaan van Blokland, from the Netherlands Red Cross, said the crossing was "unusual" and "didn't look safe at all", adding "we don't see these things often, if at all".
"The situation definitely was dire, 38 people on a boat with legs dangling out of the boat, in the cold weather, without an engine," he said.
"We were surprised that this situation occurred, we are not very familiar with these kind of movements and we will be alert for the future."
Two men are still being questioned on suspicion of people smuggling, police said.
Small boat smuggling attempts have increased from 2018 and beaches around areas of Calais and Dunkirk in Northern France have tended to be the traditional launch points.
Earlier this year, the BBC reported on a sudden rise in small boats setting off further up the coast from Belgium.
Federal Belgian police suggested it had been due to French enforcement activity.
'New methods'
Police officials in the Netherlands described the small boat rescue as rare.
However, there have been a small number of cases in recent years where smugglers have been caught trying to use yachts to smuggle migrants into the UK from the Dutch coast.
Between 1 January and 31 October 2026, a total of 22,128 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 40% on the same period the previous year.
These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.
Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.
Small boat arrivals made up 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 to June 2026.
Boats that arrived in the UK from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026 carried an average of 68 people. This has more than doubled since 2021.
Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).
When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.
The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.
People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals from July 2025 to June 2026.
In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,335 people who arrived by small boat were found to be potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office.
Another 4,712 people were detected entering the UK without permission via other methods including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries or through airports from July 2025 to June 2026. This was down by 17% on the same period the previous year.
There are also individuals who arrive legally, for example via a work or study visa, and then overstay their limit.
The total number of people who live in the UK illegally after arriving legally is not known.
The UK government said this year had seen the lowest number of summer arrivals - a period when journeys often rise in part due to the warmer weather - since 2020.
Last week crossings resumed after three weeks of stormy weather.
Former director general of the UK Border Force Tony Smith said it was "clear that the human smugglers operating in Europe continue to try new routes to bring illegal entrants to the UK".
"In recent months we have seen launches from the Normandy beaches, Belgium and now as far afield as the Netherlands rather than across the short straits to Dover under the original model," he said.
"It is important that the Border Security Command adapt its operations to cope with this ever expanding challenge."
The government said in October that the home secretary had signed a deal with the Belgian interior minister enabling police in both countries to exchange intelligence more quickly to disrupt and dismantle organised criminal networks, including those involved in migrant smuggling.
Nearly 1,050 French officers are now supporting UK-France efforts to stop crossings, with an additional new surge team bolstering operations on Western beaches, according to officials.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Joint efforts with international partners have prevented over 50,000 crossing attempts and seized 1,100 boats and engines since the election.
"But we must go further. That's why we are boosting the number of officers on the ground in France and removing the pull factors drawing people here through illegal and dangerous routes."
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