Impounded British scallop dredger sailing home from French port

FILE PHOTO: A British trawler Cornelis Gert Jan is seen moored in the port of Le Havre, after France seized on Thursday a British trawler fishing in its territorial waters without a licence, in Le Havre, France, October 29, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

ROUEN, France (Reuters) -A British scallop dredger impounded by French authorities sailed out of the French port of Le Havre on Wednesday evening and was heading home, ending a stand-off that aggravated tensions between Paris and London over post-Brexit fishing rights.

Earlier on Wednesday, a court in the French city of Rouen had ruled the vessel, the Cornelis Gert Jan, was free to leave, overturning a demand that its captain pay a 150,000 euro ($174,000) bond, a lawyer for the captain told Reuters.