Nearly 60,000 people could be trafficked by sea to the UK from neighbouring European countries by the end of this year.
That's according to the Union for Borders, Immigration and Customs (ISU), whose members are the crew of the UK Border Force's cutter craft patrolling the English Channel and North Sea.
ISU Professional Officer Lucy Moreton told Sky News that their morale was at an "all-time low" as they prepare for a huge increase in rescue operations on an "immensely old" fleet of vessels.
"The planning is for nearly 60,000, and that was before Ukraine," Moreton revealed.
Home Office documents published this week revealed that the department had chartered a ship to "aid in the transport of migrants recovered from the sea to the UK Reception Centres," at a cost of £234,000.
"We are facing a global migration crisis we are seeing an unacceptable rise in high risk and unnecessary small boat crossings because of illegal migration," a Home Office spokesperson said, also stressing that the Nationality and Borders Bill now in Parliament would crack down on human trafficking gangs and fix "the broken system."
But pro-immigration charity the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants claimed authorities gave would-be asylum-seekers no legal route into the UK — after passing through other safe countries on the way.
"People fleeing conflict and persecution should be able to travel safely to reach loved ones and get protection — as refugees flee Ukraine, this could not be more obvious," acting chief executive Minnie Rahman said. "If this government were serious about preventing risky crossings and providing sanctuary to people who need it, it would establish regulated routes to asylum in the UK now."
Broadcaster Nigel Farage, the former leaser of the Brexit Party, has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel to stand up to the European Union and get a grip on the traffic in human misery.