Moroccan warships entered Spanish waters off Ceuta during July migrant surge
El País reported that at least one Moroccan frigate and several patrol boats sailed in Spanish waters off Ceuta without authorization on 30 and 31 July and in early August. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed the entries on Monday, 12 October, and said Spain had sent a frigate to stop the incursions.
The reported incursions
El País reported on Monday, 12 October, that at least one frigate and several patrol boats of the Royal Moroccan Navy entered Spanish waters off Ceuta without authorization on 30 and 31 July and in the first days of August. Those entries coincided with the mass crossing of more than 70,000 people from Morocco into the Spanish exclave, mostly through the Tarajal border crossing and by sea. Citing sources familiar with the incidents, the newspaper said the movements were intentional and repeated rather than accidental transit, and that they came close to causing a collision between a Spanish and a Moroccan vessel. The sources neither confirmed nor ruled out coordination between the naval manoeuvres and the arrival of migrants. El Confidencial reported that the Moroccan naval base of Ksar Sghir lies about 35 kilometres from Ceuta. Madrid claims waters up to 12 miles from the coast of Ceuta, while Rabat does not recognise Spanish sovereignty over the city or its waters.
- Moroccan warships enter Spanish waters off Ceuta without authorization, also on 31 July
- Spanish Buque de Acción Marítima Rayo arrives in Ceuta
- Incursions continue and a Spanish and a Moroccan patrol boat nearly collide
- Frigates Santa María and Navarra dock in Ceuta to transfer Marine Infantry personnel
- El País publishes its report and Pedro Sánchez confirms the entries
Spain's naval response
Spain's Defence Staff sent the Buque de Acción Marítima Rayo to Ceuta, and the ship arrived on 3 August. The Rayo is based at the arsenal in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The frigate Santa María, deployed from the Rota naval base in Cádiz, began patrols but suffered a technical fault and was replaced by the frigate Navarra, both belonging to the 41st Escort Squadron. On 6 August the two frigates docked for several hours in Ceuta to transfer Marine Infantry personnel between them. According to El País, the deterrent deployment and high-level contacts by the Ministry of Defence with the authorities in Rabat ended the incursions.
Sánchez confirms the entries
Pedro Sánchez confirmed the reports on Monday in an informal conversation with journalists, without explaining why the Moroccan ships entered Spanish waters. He described the days as intense and very difficult, and said there had been high-level interaction between the two countries' armed forces. He said the situation had been resolved through dialogue and that normality was being restored. Speaking to journalists at the Royal Palace after the National Day military parade, Sánchez acknowledged the incidents.
We have to be aware that between two neighbouring countries, such isolated events exist.
He added that the two navies had communicated after the incident and that cooperation between them continued.
They were intense days, but cooperation between the navies is fluid, apart from that event.
Ceuta's migration crisis and Rabat's position
Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city on the African coast, experienced one of the largest migrant crossings in its recent history in July, when tens of thousands entered illegally from Morocco, in many cases swimming or walking around the border. In the days that followed, dozens of deaths in crossing attempts were reported and several bodies were recovered from the city's waters. Madrid's mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, questioned whether anyone doubted Moroccan complicity and asked whether anyone believed that 80,000 people or warships could move freely without Moroccan authorities knowing. The 80,000 figure is his rhetorical reference, while the reports cite more than 70,000 people crossing. Sources cited by El País did not confirm that the naval incursions and the migrant arrivals were part of a coordinated operation.
Royal visit and political reaction
Defence Minister Margarita Robles, in the annual videoconference with Spanish troops serving abroad on 11 October, praised their work ahead of the National Day. She described criticism from Amnesty International about alleged mistreatment of migrants in the exclave as unjust, attributing it to a lack of knowledge. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are due to visit Ceuta and Melilla on 13 and 14 October, with no visits to military installations planned. El Confidencial reported that the king convened the senior operational leadership of the armed forces to analyse the situation in detail and was kept informed of its military aspects.
