Two of three stowaways rescued in Spain’s Canary Islands after spending 11 days on the rudder of a Nigerian gasoline tanker have been returned to the vessel with the intention of deporting them.
According to a local government source, the third passenger, who suffered cold and dehydration throughout the journey, has not yet been released from a hospital on Gran Canaria. According to Spanish law, any stowaway who does not request refuge must be returned to the port of origin by the ship’s operator, a police official told Reuters.
The three stowaways are pictured huddled on the rudder under the hull of the Alithini II, barely above the waterline, in a photograph posted on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday.
According to Marine Traffic, the 183-meter ship, sailing under the Maltese flag, landed at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, after departing Lagos, Nigeria, on Nov. 17 and travelling along the West African coast.
The captain of the ship verified to the Red Cross that it had left from Nigeria 11 days before.
According to a Canary Islands police spokeswoman, it is up to the ship’s operator to look after the stowaways, provide them with temporary housing, and return them to their origin as quickly as feasible.
According to Helena Maleno, head of the migratory non-governmental organisation Walking Borders, the migrants should have been advised of their right to seek political asylum and questioned before being returned to the ship.
“The conditions of the journey are already an indication that something very serious may be behind it because the photos are incredible. We have never seen conditions like this where they have arrived alive,” Maleno said.
