Migrants Found On Ship´s Rudder After 8 Days At Sea
Spanish port workers have found two African migrants clinging to the rudder of a container ship after eight days at sea.
The two Nigerians, aged 18 and 22, were found clinging to the vessel part in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, on 10th July.
The ship departed from Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, Nigeria, on 2nd July and made a stop in Lome, Togo, two days later.
It arrived at Las Palmas on 10th July en route to its final destination of Gioia Tauro, Italy.
This was confirmed to CEN in interviews with spokespeople from the Las Palmas Port Authority and the National Police in Las Palmas.
The pair may have been soaked if the sea was rough at any point during their journey, even if they were in the rudder compartment at the time.
The Port Authority spokesperson told CEN: “This is not the first time this has happened. They get into the hole at the stern of the boats.
“The hole is a place in the hull of the boat where the rudder shaft can be lowered and an operator can get in if it has to be removed.
“It is not a place to be. If you get a rough sea, forget it. That part of the boat goes in and out of the water.”
This footage shows how the stowaways were rescued by workers from the Maritime Safety and Rescue Society, who reached them on an inflatable motorboat.
Following their rescue, they were taken by emergency service workers to a hospital in the city.
They were discharged the next morning, according to the National Police spokesperson, and returned to the same ship – the MSC Marta – to be taken back to their port of origin.
The National Police spokesperson confirmed to CEN that the pair had travelled alone.
MSC is a global container shipping company.
It is reportedly the second time in less than a month that an MSC container ship has docked at the Port of Las Palmas with people clinging to the rudder.