A convoy including police and emergency vehicles and empty coaches was seen leaving Gosport after a small boat carrying around 60 migrants was taken towards Dover instead.
The French coastguard said the small boat had spent more than 33 hours at sea in “precarious conditions”, with those on board refusing assistance while in French waters.
The RNLI said HM Coastguard later directed lifeboat crews to assist because of concerns for the safety and deteriorating health of those on board. They were transferred to a Border Force vessel and taken to Dover.
Empty coaches were subsequently seen leaving the Gosport area accompanied by police and emergency vehicles.
Around 200 people had gathered in Gosport at the height of a protest after reports that the small boat could be brought ashore in the area.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said officers were deployed to Gosport and Portsmouth to facilitate peaceful protest, protect the local community and support partner agencies in the event of an emergency at sea.
Police said that after it became known the vessel would dock elsewhere, some of those remaining in Gosport became hostile towards officers.
Six people were arrested.
Two men from Salisbury, aged 19 and 36, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
A 67-year-old man from Gosport was arrested on suspicion of careless driving and assaulting an emergency worker.
Two women, aged 32 and 31, and a 33-year-old man, all from Gosport, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
Police said enquiries are continuing.
The force is also investigating a video circulating online showing damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on Tuesday afternoon.
