- A Canterbury Crown Court judge sentenced Chan Mathok Atak to two years and three months after he admitted steering a Channel boat.
- The court said 165 people were aboard, including 31 children aged 14 to 17, on the July twenty-three crossing.
- Prosecutors used a new January 2026 offence targeting boat steering that puts passengers’ lives at risk.
A Canterbury Crown Court judge sentenced Chan Mathok Atak, a 19-year-old asylum seeker from South Sudan, to two years and three months in prison after he admitted steering an overcrowded boat across the Channel on July 23, 2026.
Judge Sarah Counsell imposed the sentence on September 18, 2026. The court heard that 165 people were aboard the dinghy, including dozens of children.
Counsell said Atak’s role in controlling and navigating the vessel was “important.” She rejected the suggestion that his involvement was “fleeting or incidental.”
“Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.”
The judge said that during sentencing.
Prosecutors said Atak steered for at least 90 minutes. The roughly 14-metre dinghy had left France and carried 31 children aged 14 to 17.
Britain’s January law targets steering that puts Channel passengers at risk
The prosecution relied on a new offence that came into force in January 2026. It targets people who steer boats used for Channel crossings when their conduct puts passengers’ lives at risk.
The law was introduced to reach those accused of piloting small boats. Atak’s sentence was reported as 27 months, the same term as two years and three months.
The case marks the use of that offence against a young asylum seeker who took an active role aboard a boat packed beyond ordinary capacity. Prosecutors said he was believed to be one of two people who took turns piloting the vessel.
The other side challenged that framing.
Atak’s lawyer, Audrey Cherryl Mogan, said he had no responsibility for the number of passengers or the boat’s condition. She described him as a young asylum seeker.
“Did not have anything to do with the number of people or the conditions on board.”
Mogan made that argument in court.
Prosecutor James Harrison said Atak steered while 164 other people were on the boat. The passenger count included the defendant, producing the total of 165 cited during the case.
The boat’s scale drove the court’s assessment of the steering role
The dinghy measured roughly 14 metres, or about 46 feet. Its passenger list included children as young as 14.
The crossing was described as a then-record for a single small-boat Channel crossing at the time. Atak admitted the offence at Canterbury Crown Court.
He received the sentence after the July 23 crossing. The court’s account focused on the period when he controlled the boat, rather than only on his presence as a passenger.
The sentence also places the case within a wider enforcement approach aimed at separating alleged pilots from other people aboard small boats. The January offence specifically addresses steering conduct that endangers life.
A prison term now comes before any immigration consequence.
A possible deportation decision follows the prison term
Atak may face automatic deportation after completing his sentence as a foreign national convict. That outcome was described as possible rather than immediate.
The sentencing court’s order set the prison term at two years and three months. Any later immigration action would follow the custodial period.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
