The May 1961 Red Crusader incident, involving a British trawler and a Danish warship, has—along with the I’m Alone incident and the MV Saiga case—become a milestone in the development and crystallisation of law and practice on the use of force in maritime law enforcement. Yet the incident itself, whilst often referenced, remains to some extent opaque given the brevity (by today’s standards) of the Commission of Inquiry report.
This article—based on archival sources as well as academic literature—seeks to provide a deeper contextual background and analysis of this incident. The article proceeds in four steps. First, the incident-specific legal background is examined, focussing in particular upon the fisheries arrangements and agreements in place between the UK and Denmark/Faroe Islands, and (briefly) the concept of ‘hot pursuit’ as understood at the time. The second stage of the analysis comprises an expanded account of the incident itself, informed by both the Red Crusader Commission of Inquiry report and archival sources, so as to describe in detail the factual and operational context, as a preliminary to inquiring into its legal significance. The third stage of analysis is centred upon the Red Crusader Commission of Inquiry report, identifying the key legal questions and issues dealt with by the Commission, and their findings thereupon. The final section of the article then deals with the substantive legacy of the incident in terms of its contribution to the progressive development of maritime law enforcement norms.