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Nov. 2 (UPI) — The United States killed three people in its latest strike against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced.

Hegseth said in a post to social media Saturday that American forces conducted a kinetic strike against the vessel in international waters.

He said three “narco-terrorists” were on board and all three were killed.

“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home — and they will not succeed,” he said. “The department will treat them exactly how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them and kill them.”

At least 64 people have now been killed by the U.S. in 15 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean since they began in September.

The strikes have been celebrated by families who have lost their children to fentanyl poisoning, some of whom recently rallied in the nation’s capital for a day of remembrance.

“One boat, two boat, three boat — boom!” a mother who lost her 15-year-old son to Percocet laced with fentanyl told Fox News is how she feels about the strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs to the United States. “Who did it? Trump did it!”

President Donald Trump in September told reporters that he had authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela during the summer as the Pentagon was directing a slow military buildup in the waters off the South American country.

On Oct. 24, weeks into the anti-drug trafficking campaign, Hegseth directed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to transit to the Caribbean. The group includes three destroyers, in addition to the aircraft carrier.

There already were eight naval surface vessels, a submarine and roughly 6,000 soldiers deployed to the area before the strike group was ordered there from the Mediterranean.

Trump, who notified Congress that he was engaged in conflict with drug cartels, has said in recent weeks as the naval presence has grown that he is considering whether to allow strikes inside Venezuela to combat the cartels and weaken Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro‘s administration.

But the strikes have raised concerns of escalating an conflict that could to war with Venezuela and Colombia, according to reports.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a bipartisan bill that aims to prevent the Trump administration from entering a full-throated war with Venezuela.

Critics of the Trump administration’s actions have expressed that only Congress can declare war.

On Friday, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said they violate international law and amount to extrajudicial killings.

“Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life,” High Commissioner Volker Türk said.

“Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the US authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appeared to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law,”

In recent months, a series of videos surfaced on Donald Trump’s social-media platform, showing what appeared to be drone footage of small vessels exploding somewhere in the Caribbean. The clips were accompanied by triumphant statements from the former president, who claimed that U.S. forces had struck “drug boats” operated by Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua cartel as they ferried narcotics toward the American coastline. Within hours of the first announcement, officials confirmed that “multiple interdictions” had taken place, that several suspected traffickers were dead, and that survivors were in custody.

For Washington, the operation was presented as a new frontier in counter-narcotics self-defense. For much of Latin America, it looked alarmingly like extrajudicial warfare. Colombia’s president protested that one of the destroyed boats had been Colombian, carrying his own citizens. Caracas called the attacks “acts of piracy.” And legal scholars, both in the United States and abroad, began to question not only the strikes’ legitimacy under international law but also who, exactly, had carried them out.

The Law of the Sea Meets the War on Drugs

The United States is not a signatory to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, yet successive administrations have claimed to act “in a manner consistent” with its provisions. Under that framework, ships on the high seas enjoy freedom of navigation. Interference is allowed only in narrow cases such as piracy, slavery, or “hot pursuit” when a vessel flees territorial waters after violating a state’s laws. The deliberate destruction of a boat on the open ocean—without proof of an immediate threat—sits uneasily within those boundaries.

“Force can be used to stop a boat,” observed Luke Moffett of Queen’s University Belfast, “but it must be reasonable and necessary in self-defense where there is an immediate threat of serious injury or loss of life.” Nothing in the public record suggests the crews of these vessels fired upon U.S. assets. The claim of self-defense, therefore, stretches maritime law close to breaking point.

International law’s broader prohibition on the use of force, codified in Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, is equally uncompromising. Only an armed attack, or an imminent threat of one, allows a state to respond with force in self-defense. Trump’s officials insist that Tren de Aragua constitutes a transnational terrorist organization waging “irregular warfare” against the United States. Yet, as Michael Becker of Trinity College Dublin argues, “Labelling traffickers ‘narco-terrorists’ does not transform them into lawful military targets. The United States is not engaged in an armed conflict with Venezuela or with this criminal organization.”

Nonetheless, a leaked memorandum reportedly informed Congress that the administration had determined the U.S. to be in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels—a remarkable claim that effectively militarizes the war on drugs. If accurate, it would mean Washington has unilaterally extended the legal geography of war to the Caribbean, with traffickers recast as enemy combatants rather than criminals.

Domestic Authority and the Elastic Presidency

The constitutional footing for these operations is no clearer. The power to declare war resides with Congress, but Article II designates the president commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since 2001, successive presidents have leaned on the Authorization for Use of Military Force—passed in the wake of 9/11—to justify counter-terror operations across the globe. That statute, intended to target al-Qaeda and its affiliates, has been stretched from Yemen to the Sahel. Extending it to Venezuelan cartels represents another act of legal contortion.

Rumen Cholakov, a constitutional scholar at King’s College London, suggests that rebranding cartels as “narco-terrorists” may be a deliberate attempt to fold them into the AUMF’s reach. But it remains uncertain whether Congress ever envisaged such an interpretation. Nor has the White House explained whether the War Powers Resolution’s requirement of prior consultation with lawmakers was honored before the first missile struck.

The Pentagon, asked to disclose its legal rationale, declined. The opacity has fuelled speculation that the operations were not conducted solely by uniformed military forces at all, but by an entirely different arm of the American state—one that operates in deeper shadows.

The “Third Option”: Covert Power and the CIA’s Ground Branch

In October, Trump confirmed that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to “conduct covert operations in Venezuela.” The statement was brief, but within the intelligence world it carried enormous significance. For decades, the CIA’s Special Activities Center—once known as the Special Activities Division—has been Washington’s chosen instrument for deniable action. Its paramilitary component, the Ground Branch, recruits largely from elite special-operations units and specializes in missions that the U.S. government cannot publicly own: sabotage, targeted strikes, and the training of proxy forces.

These operations fall under Title 50 of the U.S. Code, which governs intelligence activities rather than military ones. By law, the president must issue a classified “finding” declaring that the action is necessary to advance foreign-policy objectives and must notify congressional intelligence leaders. Crucially, Title 50 operations are designed so that “the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly.”

That distinction—between covert and merely secret—sets Title 50 apart from the military’s Title 10 authority. Traditional special-operations forces under the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) operate as uniformed combatants in overt or clandestine missions authorized under defense law. Their actions are governed by the law of armed conflict, subject to military oversight, and, at least in theory, open to public accountability. CIA paramilitaries, by contrast, function outside those rules. They wear no uniforms, deny official affiliation, and are overseen not by the Pentagon but by the White House and select members of Congress.

Since 9/11, the line separating the two worlds has blurred. Joint task forces have fused intelligence officers and military commandos under hybrid authorities, allowing presidents to act quickly and quietly without triggering the political friction of formal war powers. The “drug boat” strikes appear to be the latest iteration of that model: part counter-narcotics, part counter-terrorism, and part covert action.

A Legal Twilight Zone

If CIA paramilitary officers were indeed involved, the implications are profound. A covert maritime campaign authorized under Title 50 would have required a presidential finding and congressional notification, but those documents remain classified. Conducting lethal operations at sea through the intelligence apparatus—rather than under military or law-enforcement authority—creates a twilight zone of accountability.

The law of armed conflict applies only when a genuine armed conflict exists; human rights law governs peacetime use of force. Covert paramilitary strikes sit uneasily between the two. They may infringe the sovereignty of other states without ever triggering a formal act of war, and they obscure responsibility by design. Survivors of the October strike—a Colombian and an Ecuadorian now detained by U.S. authorities—exist in a legal limbo, neither civilian nor combatant.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor at Notre Dame Law School, calls the rationale “utterly unconvincing.” No credible facts, she argues, justify treating these actions as lawful self-defense. “The only relevant law for peace is international law—that is, the law of treaties, human rights, and statehood.”

The Price of Secrecy

Covert action was conceived as a tool for influence and sabotage during the Cold War, not as an instrument of maritime interdiction. Applying it to counter-narcotics missions risks collapsing the boundary between espionage and war. Oversight mechanisms designed for covert influence operations struggle to accommodate lethal paramilitary campaigns. Only a handful of legislators—the so-called “Gang of Eight”—receive full briefings, and judicial review is virtually nonexistent. In practice, the president’s signature on a secret finding becomes the sole check on executive power.

The “drug boat” operations thus reveal how the United States’ shadow-war architecture has evolved since 9/11. The Special Activities Center, once reserved for coups and clandestine support to insurgents, now appears to function as an offshore strike arm for missions the military cannot legally or politically conduct. The public framing—protecting Americans from narcotics smuggling—masks a far broader assertion of authority: the right to employ lethal force anywhere, against anyone, without declaration or disclosure.

War Without War

Trump’s supporters hail the strikes as decisive. His critics see a dangerous precedent—a campaign that bypasses Congress, ignores international law, and blurs the line between defense and vigilantism. The tension runs deeper than partisanship. It touches the central question of modern U.S. power: who decides when America is at war?

The CIA’s motto for its paramilitary wing, Tertia Optio—the “third option”—was meant to describe a choice between diplomacy and open war. Yet as that option expands into an instrument of regular policy, it threatens to eclipse both. When covert action becomes a substitute for law, secrecy replaces accountability, and deniability becomes the new face of sovereignty.

Whether these “drug boats” carried cocaine or simply unlucky sailors may never be known. What is certain is that the legal boundaries of America’s global operations are eroding at sea. The United States may claim it is defending itself; international law may call it aggression. In that unresolved space—the realm of the third option—the world’s most powerful democracy is waging a war it will not name.

A migrant has returned to the UK on a small boat after being removed to France under the “one in, one out” scheme less than a month ago, BBC News understands.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the man claimed to have been been a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smuggling gangs in France.

The Home Office declined to directly confirm the report but said a migrant had been detained and their removal was being sought as soon as possible.

Forty two people who arrived in the UK illegally have been removed so far under the scheme in which the UK agrees to take in asylum seekers who have a case for protection.

The BBC understands the man is an Iranian national, and was initially detained on 6 August and was removed on 19 September, becoming the third person to be sent to France under the scheme. He returned four days ago on 18 October.

The male migrant – who the Guardian has not named – told the newspaper he returned to the UK because he feared for his life in France.

Speaking about his alleged treatments at the hands of smugglers, he said: “They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, abused me, and threatened me with a gun and told me I would be killed if I made the slightest protest.”

Asked about the report, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We will not accept any abuse of our borders, and we will do everything in our power to remove those without the legal right to be here.

“Individuals who are returned under the pilot and subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will removed.”

Maddie Harris, director of Humans for Rights Network, told BBC News her organisation has been in direct contact with the Iranian man.

She said: “From very on early [after his removal] he was experiencing acute fear… as a result of the experience he had at the hands of the smugglers.

“While in France he experienced horrendous treatment at the hands of the people who are organising journeys to the UK.”

She said the man returned because he felt he “was not receiving protection in France and feared those individuals may continue with that horrendous treatment”.

She also said her organisation had seen cases of others returned under the scheme who have had “compelling” evidence of mistreatment, and who were not able to receive “adequate legal advice” during the “rushed” removal process.

Asked about the “one in, one out” scheme on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We’ve been clear about the arrangement with France, that this is the beginning of a landmark scheme which is not in itself a silver bullet”.

Separately, the BBC has spoken to an Eritrean man in France who says he was also returned under the scheme.

The man, who asked to be identified as Jonas, said he fled his home country because he feared religious persecution during mandatory conscription in the military.

Jonas said he travelled to the UK via Belarus, Poland and France, and boarded a small boat with 71 others to cross the Channel, some of whom he said have now received asylum in the UK.

Jonas said he believes he was selected for removal arbitrarily, and told the BBC he was detained for two months prior to be flown to France.

Asked why he believed he was chosen for removal, he said: “I don’t know. The only reason they say is ‘you came from safe country’ – but it’s not only me. How many people are crossing? Three thousand, four thousand [per month]?”

Jonas, who is now temporarily living in a refugee centre in Paris, would be unlikely to be deported to Eritrea from the European Union, but said he fears he would be imprisoned if he returned.

The scheme, which was announced in July, is intended to deter people from crossing the Channel and encourage migrants to make asylum claims on the continent. Twenty three people have returned to France.

Under the treaty, France agreed to take back migrants who had travelled to the UK by small boat and had their asylum claim rejected.

For each person returned to France, the UK has agreed to accept someone with a case for protection as a refugee who has not attempted to cross the Channel.

On Sunday, the Home Office said 16 people had been removed to France on a single flight, the largest group removal under the scheme yet.

The Iranian man’s return to the UK came as small boat arrivals on Wednesday meant that the number of attempts to cross the Channel this year have now exceeded the 36,816 recorded in 2024.

An official figure won’t be confirmed until Thursday.

The record number of arrivals for a single year was 45,755 in 2022, and this year’s rate is closely tracking that.

Home Office figures show that there were no crossings on six out of the last seven days but that 369 made the journey on 18 October.

WASHINGTON — President Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land operations on the country.

The acknowledgement of covert action in Venezuela by the U.S. spy agency comes after the U.S. military in recent weeks has carried out a series of deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. U.S. forces have destroyed at least five boats since early September, killing 27 people, and four of those vessels originated from Venezuela.

Asked during an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday why he had authorized the CIA to take action in Venezuela, Trump affirmed he had made the move.

“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America,” he said. “And the other thing, the drugs, we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.”

Trump added the administration “is looking at land” as it considers further strikes in the region. He declined to say whether the CIA has authority to take action against President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump made the unusual acknowledgement of a CIA operation shortly after the New York Times published that the CIA had been authorized to carry out covert action in Venezuela.

Maduro pushes back

On Wednesday, Maduro lashed out at the record of the U.S. spy agency in various conflicts around the world without directly addressing Trump’s comments about authorizing the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.

“No to regime change that reminds us so much of the [overthrows] in the failed eternal wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and so on,” Maduro said at a televised event of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, which is made up of representatives from various political, economic, academic and cultural sectors in Venezuela.

“No to the coups carried out by the CIA, which remind us so much of the 30,000 disappeared,” a figure estimated by human rights organizations such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo during the military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983). He also referred to the 1973 coup in Chile.

“How long will the CIA continue to carry on with its coups? Latin America doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them and repudiates them,” Maduro added.

The objective is “to say no to war in the Caribbean, no to war in South America, yes to peace,” he said.

Speaking in English, Maduro said: “Not war, yes peace, not war. Is that how you would say it? Who speaks English? Not war, yes peace, the people of the United States, please. Please, please, please.”

In a statement, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday rejected “the bellicose and extravagant statements by the President of the United States, in which he publicly admits to having authorized operations to act against the peace and stability of Venezuela.”

“This unprecedented statement constitutes a very serious violation of international law and the United Nations’ Charter and obliges the community of countries to denounce these clearly immoderate and inconceivable statements,” said the statement, which Foreign Minister Yván Gil posted on his Telegram channel.

Resistance from Congress

Early this month, the Trump administration declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and pronounced the United States is now in an “armed conflict” with them, justifying the military action as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

The move has spurred anger in Congress from members of both major political parties that Trump was effectively committing an act of war without seeking congressional authorization.

On Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said while she supports cracking down on trafficking, the administration has gone too far.

“The Trump administration’s authorization of covert CIA action, conducting lethal strikes on boats and hinting at land operations in Venezuela slides the United States closer to outright conflict with no transparency, oversight or apparent guardrails,” New Hampshire’s Shaheen said. “The American people deserve to know if the administration is leading the U.S. into another conflict, putting servicemembers at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation.”

The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that the boats targeted by the U.S. military were in fact carrying narcotics, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the administration has only pointed to unclassified video clips of the strikes posted on social media by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and has yet to produce “hard evidence” that the vessels were carrying drugs.

Lawmakers have expressed frustration that the administration is offering little detail about how it came to decide the U.S. is in armed conflict with cartels or which criminal organizations it claims are “unlawful combatants.”

Even as the U.S. military has carried out strikes on some vessels, the U.S. Coast Guard has continued with its typical practice of stopping boats and seizing drugs.

Trump on Wednesday explained away the action, saying the traditional approach hasn’t worked.

“Because we’ve been doing that for 30 years, and it has been totally ineffective. They have faster boats,” he said. ”They’re world-class speedboats, but they’re not faster than missiles.”

Human rights groups have raised concerns that the strikes flout international law and are extrajudicial killings.

Madhani writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — The United States struck another small boat accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela, killing six people, President Trump said on Tuesday.

Those who died in the strike were aboard the vessel, and no U.S. forces were harmed, Trump said in a social media post. It’s the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as Trump’s administration has asserted it’s treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike Tuesday morning, said Trump, who released a video of it, as he had in the past. Hegseth later shared the video in a post on X.

Trump said the strike was conducted in international waters and “Intelligence” confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with “narcoterrorist networks” and was on a known drug trafficking route.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking more information on the latest boat strike.

Frustration with the Trump administration has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both major political parties. Some Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes. Democrats contend the strikes violate U.S. and international law.

The Senate last week voted on a war powers resolution that would have barred the Trump administration from conducting the strikes unless Congress specifically authorized them, but it failed to pass.

In a memo to Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press, the Trump administration said it had “determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations” and that Trump directed the Pentagon to “conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict.”

The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that the boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The strikes followed a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times.

Last week, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino told military leaders that the U.S. government knows the drug-trafficking accusations used to support the recent actions in the Caribbean are false, with its true intent being to “force a regime change” in the South American country.

He added that the Venezuelan government does not see the deployment of the U.S. warships as a mere “propaganda-like action” and warned of a possible escalation.

“I want to warn the population: We have to prepare ourselves because the irrationality with which the U.S. empire operates is not normal,” Padrino said during the televised gathering. “It’s anti-political, anti-human, warmongering, rude, and vulgar.”

Price and Toropin write for the Associated Press. AP writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

AN ANCIENT Roman ship downed by a storm has been found centuries later at a holiday hotspot – and there’s even treasure on board.

The 2,000-year-old discovery was made mere metres from a popular beachfront – and baffled researchers claim the ship is still in great condition.

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The archaeological sensation was unearthed along the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia this month, almost two millennia after it sunk.

Its timbers even “look like they were just carved”, according to the gobsmacked research team.

Divers suspected there might be a wreck at the Roman port of Barbir after discovering an antique plank with a metal nail in 2020.

Five years later, the entire 42-foot vessel has now been revealed, along with a haul of ancient coins.

One of them even included the ancient Roman emperor, Trajan.

The incredible shipwreck lies in the village of Sukošan just a few miles south of Zadar, one of Croatia’s biggest tourist destinations.

The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology, which led the excavation, said the ship was likely lost in a storm.

Director Mladen Pešić said: “As the evidence shows us, the ship was docked in the harbour.

“It was found just in front of the pier, so we suppose that due to the bad weather the ropes could be broken and the ship might have hit the shore.”

He added: “Broken stern elements give us evidence of this, since this beam that belongs to the keel was split like it hit a hard surface.

“The ship was probably in such bad condition that the owners decided to leave it on the bottom of the harbour.”

Radiocarbon analysis dates the ship to the first or second century AD – roughly the period of Trajan’s reign.

And though the ship was damaged enough to sink, it is in surprisingly good condition for its age.

Dr Pešić said: “The preserved ship was almost 13 meters in length and 3.5m in width.

“Many different elements were preserved – keel, planks, frames, ceilings, and many elements of the ship’s upper construction.”

He continued: “It is quite well preserved; some of the planks and frames look like they were just carved.”

The construction of the vessel suggests it was built to carry heavy loads over medium-to-long distances.

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And the artefacts found on board point to the same conclusion.

Dr Pešić said there were many shards of “pottery, glass, and other archaeological material” that could be connected with ship and the port.

“Most interesting are two complete jugs that were part of the ship’s equipment,” he explained.

“As we found many olive pits on it, we suppose that at the moment of sinking, the ship was transporting olives for further processing or for sale.”

The ship will now be preserved in-situ, being covered with a protective geotextile membrane and reburied in the sand.

But a recreation of the ship is planned for public display.

Dr Pešić said: “The plan is to make a 1:10 scale reconstruction of the existing ship construction in order to make a predictive model of ship how it looked in Roman times.”

Excavation of the ship was the work of a multinational team, including experts from Croatia, France, Poland, Germany, and the UK.

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The US has launched four attacks on the Caribbean region in recent weeks as part of what it says is a war on drugs.

Russia has condemned a US strike on a boat allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela that killed four people on Friday and warned of potential escalation in the entire Caribbean region.

In a phone call to his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the attack, which took place in international waters.

“The ministers expressed serious concern about Washington’s escalating actions in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” said a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry following the conversation.

“The Russian side has confirmed its full support and solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela in the current context.”

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News in an interview on Sunday that he had “every authorisation needed” to conduct military strikes on vessels off the coast of Venezuela. He did not provide more details about what the authorisation granted his office permission to do.

In a post on X following Friday’s strike, Hegseth claimed the vessel was transporting “substantial amounts of narcotics — headed to America to poison our people”.

“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!,” he said.

In a nearly 40-second video of the strike shared by Hegseth, a vessel can be seen moving through the water before a web of projectiles falls on the boat and the surrounding water, causing the boat to explode on impact.

He claimed that the intelligence “without a doubt” confirmed that the vessel was carrying drugs and that the people on board were “narco-terrorists”. He disclosed neither the amount nor the type of alleged drugs aboard, and he did not release any evidence to support his assertion that the targets of the strike were drug smugglers.

US war against drug cartels

The latest strike brings the number of such United States attacks to at least four, leaving at least 21 people dead.

US President Donald Trump notified Congress on Thursday that his administration had determined that members of drug cartels are “unlawful combatants” with whom the US is engaged in “non-international armed conflict”.

Trump on Sunday told reporters at the White House that the US military build-up in the Caribbean had halted drug trafficking from South America. “There’s no drugs coming into the water. And we’ll look at what phase two is,” he said, without providing more details on his plans.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US is hoping to drive him out of power. Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on Thursday — when the country blasted an “illegal incursion” near its borders by US warplanes — that US attacks were “a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation”.

Washington has cited the US Constitution, war powers, designation of drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations”, the right to self-defence and international law on unlawful combatants as the legal basis for the strikes.

Some legal experts and lawmakers argue that using military force in international waters against alleged criminals bypasses due process, violates law enforcement norms, lacks a clear legal foundation under US and international law, and is not justified by the cartels’ “terrorist” designation.

HOLIDAY booze cruises promise a carefree escape with sun, sea and endless partying – but beneath the decks and pounding music lies a darker reality.

For Nakita Colville, a pirate-themed boat trip in Turkey turned to tragedy when her father, Peter, suddenly died while swimming – but instead of rushing back to shore, staff told his shell-shocked daughter, “he’s dead, he’s gone”, covered his body with a towel, and told guests they would go ahead with a planned foam party.

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In her first exclusive interview since her father’s heartbreaking death just nine weeks ago, on July 27, she told The Sun how “unbothered and clueless” staff on board just stood there watching as her dad died in front of his children and grandchildren.

She also warned that this wouldn’t be the last tragedy at sea onboard unregulated party boats with shoddy safety standards.

She tells The Sun: “I don’t think people are aware of how dangerous it can be until something like this happens to your family.

“Unless things change, I don’t think this will be the last death.”

Despite thousands of tourists signing up for boat parties and trips every year, what was once a thrill-filled novelty is now a high-risk activity, where the line between fun and danger is perilously thin. 

And the risks are compounded once you step outside UK waters, where regulations can be patchy and enforcement inconsistent – and lax safety measures, unlimited drink offers, and drugs circulating on board create a perfect storm.

On one booze-filled stag-do party cruise in Lisbon, laddish “banter” led to the tragic death of city worker Nishanthan Gnanathas.

Thrown from a yacht into the River Tagus in November 2019, Nish – best man and beloved friend – hit his head on a balustrade before crashing into the icy water. 

The coroner’s conclusion was stark – what happened was “horseplay that went tragically wrong”.

Dr Fiona Wilcox recorded a conclusion of misadventure, saying: “This was an absolutely tragic accident that could not have been reasonably anticipated.”

Maritime police chief Malaquais Dominguez said “it was a stupid joke between friends”.

“He was pushed and he went overboard. He disappeared in the water. I have no doubt they will live with this terrible moment for the rest of their lives,” Dominguez said. 

The story echoes the growing unease around stag and party-boat culture abroad – where cheap alcohol, bravado, and ritualised pranks can lead to tragedy.

In Amsterdam, Neil Stewart’s fiancée arranged a surprise weekend in the Dutch capital – and told her it was “the happiest time of his life”.

But by the end of a night on a party boat, Stewart was dead, swallowed by the inky waters of the Noordzeekanaal after what witnesses believe began as a prank on board.

The Newcastle coroner’s inquest heard Stewart had taken cocaine and cannabis before boarding the boat for the Bounce Til I Die event. 

Post-mortem tests later confirmed both in his system, along with traces of cannabis from a “space cake” eaten earlier in a café.

A witness said she saw Stewart “deliberately jump” from the smoking deck and initially thought it was “a silly prank” – especially as he seemed to be laughing in the water before he drowned, and Stewart’s body was recovered two weeks later.

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‘Pirate ship’ tragedy

On July 27, grandfather Peter Colville, 60, from Woking, died on board a pirate-themed boat trip in Alanya, Turkey.

Daughter Nakita, 27, told how her father and nine other family members, including children, had boarded the boat.

The “luxury pirate ship” promised entertainment, DJs and a foam party, along with two swim stops for guests to go snorkelling.

The family paid over £200 for tickets to board the “luxurious six-deck yacht” – called Legend Big Kral – at an excursion centre.

Everyone was enjoying the music, blue seas and stunning views of the Mediterranean as the boat, carrying some 600 passengers according to Nakita, set sail.

Unless things change, I don’t think this will be the last death

Nakita Colville

Nakita, an admin assistant, said: “My dad is very safety-conscious, and I remember as we walked onto the boat, he said it was strange they didn’t seem to tick off names, hand out wristbands or get waivers signed.

“At that point, we just brushed it off – we never could have known what was to come.”

The first swim stop came and went, with most of Nakita’s family getting into the water, including property maintenance boss Peter – who was an avid snorkeller. 

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Nakita recalled feeling strange that only the children were given life jackets.

So, being a weaker swimmer, when the second swim stop came at Cleopatra Beach, she opted not to go back in.

But confident swimmer Peter, and Nakita’s brother-in-law, Ben Diamond, 35, were keen to get back in the water again.

The pair were happy snorkelling together one minute – and the next, Nakita heard screams of panic.

She says: “I looked into the water and saw my dad’s face, floating, and people scrambling to get him out of the water.

“My sister and I ran down – and she screamed, ‘Oh my God, he is going purple’.”

Nakita said guests dragged Peter, a dad-of-seven and grandfather-of-six, onto the deck, and one began administering CPR.

As Nakita’s family – along with countless other guests – crowded around, “screaming and horrified”, she claims “unbothered and clueless” staff on board “just stood there watching”.

She alleged staff on board repeated, “he’s dead, he’s gone” before a member of the team suggested covering Peter’s body with a towel – before the coastguard even arrived.

Nakita says: “There didn’t seem to be any system in place to deal with an emergency situation. There didn’t seem to be a plan.

“He was laid on the deck – and then nothing. No proper procedure, no clearing the deck of onlookers, no immediate CPR. They stood there with their arms crossed, clueless.

“Some seemed like they weren’t bothered, some of the younger staff members looked like they felt bad that they didn’t know what to do. 

“It didn’t feel like they were adequately first-aid trained. It was the guests giving my dad CPR.”

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She claims she asked staff if the boat carried a defibrillator and was told by a crew member that they didn’t have one as they “couldn’t keep it charged”.

She said: “I found that strange, as they had electricity for the DJ decks and foam machines.”

According to UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency advice, all ships should undertake a risk assessment, but “as a general guide, vessels in regular operation carrying in excess of 100 persons” should carry a defib.

But many holiday booze cruises operate in foreign ports with looser safety standards, overcrowded decks, and minimal oversight. 

Life jackets may be scarce, crew training is often insufficient, and emergency procedures can be a little more than a box-ticking exercise. 

Nakita said the event was so traumatising that her mother and Peter’s wife, Rosalind Colville, 53, collapsed from shock.

And Nakita says it was also guests on board helping Rosalind by bringing her water and getting her a chair – rather than staff.

I was told the remaining guests were told ‘sorry for the delay’ and they carried on with the party. Apparently it was disturbing – nobody else on board even wanted to party after what they had just witnessed

Nakita Colville

Nakita says: “My sister and I were just holding my dad’s hand, screaming.

“As far as we knew, or he knew, he was healthy – we have no idea what happened.

“He was smart – if he had been, or felt, unwell, he wouldn’t have got in the water.

“They had covered him with a towel before the coastguard even arrived.”

When they did finally arrive 40 minutes later, Peter was taken to hospital.

The family were asked whether they wished to remain on the boat for the rest of the trip, or get off and go to hospital with him.

The family – including two of his grandchildren – were taken off the boat, and at the hospital Peter was confirmed dead.

Nakita says she learned from other guests at their hotel, who were also on board the boat, that after her family left, the party continued.

She claims she learned the crew even hosted a foam party for the remaining traumatised passengers.

She said: “I was told the remaining guests were told ‘sorry for the delay’ and they carried on with the party.

“Apparently, it was disturbing – nobody else on board even wanted to party after what they had just witnessed.”

Nakita had to break the news by phone to her four brothers and their families back home.

Postmortems were conducted in Turkey and back in the UK when his body was brought home.

Nakita said neither could find a cause of death, so investigations are ongoing as the family tries to grieve the loss of their beloved father and grandfather.

One Tripadvisor review from the day of the tragedy read: “The way it was handled by the crew was nothing short of horrifying.

“It is unsafe, unprofessional, and the crew is neither trained nor emotionally capable of handling emergencies – or tragedies.”

There didn’t seem to be any system in place to deal with an emergency situation. There didn’t seem to be a plan

Nakita Colville

But Nakita fears tourists don’t realise the risks associated with excursions like this one.

She says: “With these trips, even if safety measures are in place, there are always risks.

“Thinking back, I don’t think there were enough crew members for the number of people on the boat, and to be able to watch all the people swimming in the water.

“We can’t say it was the company’s fault that he died, but maybe he could have been saved.”

Legend Big Kral did not respond to a request for a comment, but a representative did contact Nakita directly after her original story was shared. 

They claimed that all ten staff members were first aid trained. 

Nakita says the representative also claimed that Peter passed of a heart attack – a fact which has not been confirmed yet by two post-mortems. Coroners say it is still being investigated. 

For many Brits, holiday booze cruises start as a fantasy: sun, cheap drinks and a chance to let loose, far away from the office or family life. 

But increasingly, these trips are leaving more than just a hangover in their wake. 

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Israeli forces intercepted and boarded the Marinette, the last boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla that was still sailing towards Gaza. Crew members held up signs saying they saw warships approaching before soldiers boarded and detained them at gunpoint.

The Marinette is the final vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla still heading towards Gaza after Israel intercepted nearly 40 others. The Polish-flagged boat is expected to be stopped within hours.

WASHINGTON — President Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo obtained by the Associated Press on Thursday, following recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The memo, startling in scope, signals a potential new moment not just in the Trump administration’s willingness to reach beyond the norms of presidential authority to wage war but in Trump’s stated “America First” agenda. It also raises stark questions about how far the White House intends to use its war powers and if Congress will exert its authority to approve — or ban — such military actions.

The move comes after the U.S. military last month carried out three deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. At least two of those operations were carried out on vessels that originated from Venezuela.

Those strikes followed up a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean.

“Although friendly foreign nations have made significant efforts to combat these organizations, suffering significant losses of life, these groups are now transnational and conduct ongoing attacks throughout the Western Hemisphere as organized cartels,” according to the memo, which refers to cartel members as “unlawful combatants.” “Therefore, the President determined these cartels are non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”

Pentagon officials could not provide a list of the designated terrorist organizations at the center of the conflict, a matter that was a major source of frustration for some of the lawmakers who were briefed, according to the person.

Lawmakers have been pressing Trump to go to Congress and seek war powers authority for such operations.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. Multiple defense officials reached Thursday appeared to be caught off guard by the determination and would not immediately comment or explain what the president’s action could mean for the Pentagon or military operations going forward.

What the Trump administration laid out at the closed-door classified briefing was perceived by several senators as pursuing a new legal framework that raised questions particularly regarding the role of Congress in authorizing any such action, the person familiar with the matter said.

As the Republican administration takes aim at vessels in the Caribbean, senators and lawmakers of both major political parties have raised stark objections. Some had previously called on Congress to exert its authority under the War Powers Act that would prohibit the administration’s strikes unless they were authorized by Congress.

The first military strike, carried out on Sept. 2 on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat, killed 11 people. Trump claimed the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, which was listed by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.

The Trump administration had previously justified the military action as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, as well as human rights groups questioned the legality of Trump’s action. They called it potential overreach of executive authority in part because the military was used for law enforcement purposes.

By claiming his campaign against drug cartels is an active armed conflict, Trump appears to be claiming extraordinary wartime powers to justify his action.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committees, said the drug cartels are “despicable and must be dealt with by law enforcement.”

“The Trump Administration has offered no credible legal justification, evidence, or intelligence for these strikes,” said Reed, a former Army officer who served in the 82nd Airborne Division.

The Trump administration has yet to explain how the military assessed the boats’ cargo and determined the passengers’ alleged gang affiliation before the strikes.

Madhani and Mascaro write for the Associated Press. AP writer Konstatin Toropin contributed reporting.

Thanks to some Turkish fishermen, we are getting a pretty good look at a Ukrainian Magura drone boat they found last night. Also known as an uncrewed surface vessel (USV), the Maguras have become a key component in Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF). It was found days after a video emerged on social media showing a claimed Russian capture of another Magura, which you can read more about later in this story.

This explosive-laden Magura was found offshore near the town of Çarşıbaşı, according to Turkish authorities. The town is located about 900 miles from Ukrainian-held territory on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. The location is about 600 miles southeast of the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, where Ukraine has carried out the bulk of its USV attacks.

“Our fishermen found a fiber boat at sea last night and brought it to the port,” the Turkish IHA media outlet reported on Tuesday. “Authorities came and inspected it. It was determined that there was a bomb inside. The boat is sitting in our port. Our fishermen cannot enter the port; we have closed the port to fishermen, and we are suffering because of this. The bomb squad is coming. We are waiting for them.”

IHA and Russian Telegram channels described the USV as a Magura V5 model, which seems to line up with what we have seen in previous imagery, given the location of the electro-optical turret in relation to the bow.

As you can see in the following video and image, the Magura has the aforementioned gyro-stabilized electro-optical turret. In addition, it appears there are two planar satellite antenna arrays atop the hull.

A third satcom antenna array can be seen on the broken riser.

Though originally designed and used primarily as a kamikaze drone boat, GUR has used several variants of the Maguras to perform different functions. They include launching first-person view (FPV) and bomber drones, firing machine guns and serving as a platform for anti-aircraft missiles. The one recovered in Turkey did not appear to have FPV drone launchers, missile rails or gun turrets.

Last December, GUR claimed it fired an adapted R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missile from a Magura V5 to down a Russian Mi-8 Hip helicopter over the Black Sea. It marked the first known time a USV had ever shot down an aircraft. The attack is visible in the following video.

Ukraine also claimed it began to launch FPVs from its Maguras back in January. In early May 2025, we were the first to report that (GUR) used its newer Magura V7 USV, armed with a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, to shoot down a pair of Russian Su-30 Flanker fighters flying over the Black Sea. That attack was also captured on video.

This is not the first Magura variant that Ukraine has lost control of. Images showing up on social media over the years show the evolution of these weapons, with improved optics, guidance systems and increased length.

Our first glimpse of Ukraine’s USVs came in September 2022, when photos showed up on X a month before sea drones began to become Ukraine’s weapon of choice against the BSF. The USV was recovered near the city of Sevastopol, home to the headquarters of the BSF. 

In October 2022, Ukraine launched the first in a wave of what would be a game-changing campaign, using USVs and aerial drones to attack Sevastopol. Since then, drone boats have been used numerous times against targets.

You can see a portion of that attack in the following video.

Ukraine released a video from today’s attack on Sevastopol. It shows a naval drone targeting the Black Sea Fleet’s Admiral Makarov Project 11356 frigate, which Russian sources said was damaged (it replaced the Moskva as the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship). https://t.co/zdAeWUvDrb pic.twitter.com/TNnIu4OIap

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 29, 2022

Images of another captured Magura were seen on X in November 2023. It was captured intact by Russia in western Crimea, Russian milbloggers reported on Telegram. It was attempting to attack Russian ships in western Crimea “when it fell into Russian hands,” the Russian Military Informant Telegram channel stated. In commenting on the capture, the Two Majors Telegram channel offered an ominous warning: “Soon a surprise will await the enemy,” a seeming indication that Russia might work to reverse engineer this USV. At the very least, they will pull it apart to gain any new intelligence they can, especially in regards to how they can disrupt their communications and what kind of drones they are using to attack targets on land.

Just a few days before the Turkish fishermen found the Magura, an undated video emerged online of what was claimed to be one captured by the Russians. It appeared to be outfitted with canisters for launching FPV drones. However, the location of the video and when it was captured remain unclear.

The Russians inspect a captured Ukrainian Magura Naval Drone outfitted with fibre optic drones onto.

This thing must look like a spaceship to the average Russian caveman. pic.twitter.com/zaqoDS5sZi

— Bricktop_NAFO (@Bricktop_NAFO) September 27, 2025

As we previously noted, Ukraine’s early drone boat attacks on the BSF were a “wakeup call,” marking a new point in unmanned warfare. These attacks have proven that a nation with nearly no significant remaining traditional navy but an array of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) can keep one of the world’s largest navies at bay.

Ukraine’s drone boat attacks have pinned down the BSF, keeping it largely away from Crimea and putting it at risk even in Russia’s eastern Black Sea ports. These attacks have removed larger Russian naval assets from operating in the northwestern Black Sea totally.

It is unknown what Turkish authorities will do with the drone boat that was recovered. At the very least, the fishermen will have a cool story to tell about the one that didn’t get away.

Contact the author: [email protected]

A walk and the best chips, Saint-Malo

The overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo is hard to beat. After work, we board the ship, enjoy a drink in the bar and wake up to the sunrise over the harbour. The scenic coastal path that runs along the Brittany coast winds through woodlands and secluded coves. A swim in the clear water and then on to the restaurant La Guinguette des Marmouz near Plouër-sur-Rance. The best chips we’ve ever had in a very laid-back spot along the estuary. We’d stumbled across something pretty special.
Kate

Hull to Rotterdam and North Sea camping

The cost of a P&O ferry from Hull to Rotterdam (starting at about £500 return for four people and a car) may seem steep, but so are four return flights and two nights in an airport hotel. We camped in our own tent at Camping Sollasi, a mile or two from the beautiful dunes. There were fresh croissants every morning and we were a short hop from bustling Noordwijkerhout, where every possible combination of cycles was available from Rent-A-Bike Van Dam. Truly memorable.
Martin

Fantastic holiday park near the Hook of Holland

Only 40 minutes from the Hook of Holland, where the ferry from Harwich goes, we found Landal de Reeuwijkse Plassen to be a great family-friendly holiday park with playgrounds, an indoor pool, a beach by the lake and plenty of watersports. It’s only a short bike ride or bus journey from Gouda, famous for its cheese but with a good town market and also the home of stroopwafels (syrup waffles). A great base for exploring the rest of the Netherlands.
James Melia

A gourmet break in Honfleur, Normandy

Take the ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, and drive 35 minutes to the beautiful, charming small city of Honfleur, which sits overlooking the mighty River Seine as it empties into the English Channel. My tip: spend a Saturday eating entirely from the city-wide market – Normandy cider, fizzing with crisp and juicy apples; the freshest oysters, shucked before your eyes and eaten right there and then; and topped off, of course, with the famous Normandy cheeses camembert and Pont-l’Évêque. It’s France at its best.
Aaron

Picos and tapas in Santander, Spain

Hop on a ferry from Plymouth to Santander (with a spot of whale watching en route). Twenty hours later, the rugged cliffs and crashing waves of northern Spain struck us as reminiscent of the Cornish coast, and temperatures were delightful – warm and sunny but not too hot. Despite its beauty and golden sand city beaches, fantastic seafood and tapas, Santander doesn’t feel particularly touristy. With easy access to the prehistoric El Castillo cave paintings, Picos de Europa national park and the bustling Bilbao, this is an ideal ferry break.
Eloise

Great scoff in Roscoff, Brittany

Roscoff, overnight from Plymouth, is a great destination in Brittany. The old town is lovely with a good boulangerie (open early, just as you get off the ferry) and an ancient harbour. We drove 40 minutes south-east to stay on the coast near Morlaix, another old town with an amazing viaduct, lovely bars, creperies and fantastic museums. Also nearby, at Barnenez, is the oldest and one of the largest burial cairns in Europe, an amazing place with panoramic views of the coast. Head to nearby Carantec for superb markets.
Ben Jennison-Phillips

Belle epoque is alive and well in Deauville

Deauville on the Normandy coast is just a short drive from Caen after a ferry crossing from Portsmouth. It’s an elegant, chic resort – similar to the riviera towns but without the hassle of a long drive to get there. Art deco cabins named after movie stars line the boardwalk behind the soft, sandy beach, which goes on for miles. Locals and Parisians enjoy promenading with parasols, so my husband and I joined them – and felt like we were in a gentle Renoir painting. Sunbathing and swimming are popular on the lovely beach, or you can shop and sip coffee in the town with its stylish belle epoque buildings in the background.
Gina

A whale of a time on the ferry to Bilbao

The ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao is almost as fun as the holiday itself. With a journey time of around 30 hours, there’s plenty of time to relax and watch the Bay of Biscay go by (we saw whales and dolphins, as well as a beautiful Atlantic sunset). Once you arrive in Bilbao it’s fairly obvious you should check out the Guggenheim, wander the old town and eat pintxos. But it’s also really worthwhile to take a boat trip up the river to see where the urban regeneration stops and where there are reminders of the city’s industrial heritage.
Katie

The mini-Amsterdam with a buzz

Leiden – between the Hook of Holland and Amsterdam – is a fantastic destination easily reached by ferry, whether from Newcastle, Hull, Harwich or Dover. It offers everything Amsterdam does but on a smaller scale and with canals visitors can enjoy. It’s easily reached by road and rail, and has great places to stay, eat and enjoy. The mainly pedestrianised and historic town centre is beautiful, with a fantastic Saturday market along the canals. The large student population gives it a really nice buzz, all year round.
Ruud Jansen Venneboer

My teenage boys and I went from Newhaven, East Sussex, to Dieppe, Normandy, in late August. We found Dieppe to be a smart resort town with some great cafes, restaurants, history. Then it was on to Le Havre to catch the Ligue 1 football match between Le Havre AC and Nice. The home team’s club song is the same tune as God Save the King – chosen by the expat Brits who formed the club in 1872. The atmosphere in the Stade Océane was fantastic – we stood in the home end with the (friendly) ultras, waving flags and singing songs. Le Havre itself has incredible architecture, great shopping, culture, seafood and a decent beach.
James

If you feel stuck for something to do in London, Skuna Boats is the perfect activity – relaxing, fun and something really different

Having lived in London for the best part of a decade I made it my mission when I first moved here to cross as many of the main tourist attractions off the list as possible.

It’s all too easy when you live in a city as amazing as London to take things for granted so after a feverish couple of years, I done all the big ones – St Paul’s, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Parks, you name it, I’d looked round it.

You may think this would leave me at a loss for fun activities to do each weekend and that’s where you’d be very wrong. Some of the very best attractions London has to offer are those that fly under the radar – and there’s one I’ve been eyeing up out of the window at work for as long as I can imagine.

Skuna Boats, based in Canary Wharf, offer a dazzling array of water-based activities. From an igloo boat, where you cosy and ensconced is a see-through igloo while you potter about the water ways of Canary Wharf, to the BBQ boat, which pretty much does what it says on the tin. But the one that really caught my eye was the hit tub boat. Imagine the fun, being in a hot tub ON the water.

One gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon four friends and I donned our swimming costumes and ventured out onto the water. We picked evening so we got the best of both worlds, making the most of the last of the sunshine and then floating around Canary Wharf, gazing at the glittering lights, as the sun went down as we sipped wine and giggled.

The first thing to mention is Skuna take safety very seriously. You delegate one of your party to be captain and alcohol is banned for them. You’re then given a very thorough safety talk and quiz so you’re ready to take to the water in the safest possible way.

After changing in the lovely on site changing rooms, where you can rent soft and fluffy robes and towels, we made our way down to the pier and our waiting boat.

After another very thorough run through of how to operate the boat – which once you get your head round everything being in the opposite direction to where you think it should be – it’s surprisingly easy. We were loaded up with our waterproof containers holding our phones, which I would highly recommend taking as the views are spectacular and our drinks and we were off.

It took a few minutes to get the hang of steering our sturdy vessel but this only added to the fun. The water in the hot tub, which is wood fired, was absolutely perfect and felt like such a luxurious way to see Canary Wharf from a very different angle.

As we wound our way along the route, one thing that really blew my mind was the number of people stopping to wave, smile and shout hello to us. I’m not a born and bred Londoner but I’ve been here for long enough to know if this amazing city has a downside, it’s that the people aren’t always the friendliest.

I thought I’d feel somewhat mortified being spotted in my cossie so close to where I work every day but everyone was so nice and we were having such an amazing time, I didn’t mind in the slightest.

Canary Wharf has always been a stunning part of London and the views from our little hot tub oasis were absolutely spectacular. What a way to see what can be an underrated part of the city.

After 75 minutes on the water, it was time for us to get out and sample the Skuna Sauna. If I was feeling relaxed by the time I got out of the hot tub, I was positively zen after leaving the sauna. A real piece of luxury and health right there on the quayside.

So, next time you’re feeling a bit stuck with what to do in London I cannot recommend Skuna Boats highly enough – I can’t wait to set sail again.

For more information and for a full list of prices, make sure to visit the Skuna website.