Two stowaways were discovered on the rudder of the “MSC MARTA,” an MSC Containership, on July 10th, after it had completed a voyage of over 2,700 nautical miles. These stowaways, two young men, endured a cramped position without the ability to stand upright or find shelter for six days.
Upon its arrival at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on July 10th, the vessel, MSC MARTA, docked around 10:00 PM local time. One of Salvamento Maritimo’s patrol boats spotted the two stowaways perched on the ship’s rudder. Another boat was then dispatched to retrieve them. These stowaways were identified as Nigerian males aged 18 and 22.
Local authorities took the two men into custody. They had climbed onto the ship’s rudder while the vessel was docked in LAGOS, Nigeria, on July 2nd. After departing from Lagos, the ship traveled over 100 nautical miles to Lome, Togo, followed by 2,500 nautical miles to the Canary Islands. The two stowaways endured over six days on the rudder while the ship crossed the open ocean.
Following their discovery, the stowaways were taken to the hospital for examination during their first night. Subsequently, they were returned to the MSC ship. According to Spanish law, the responsibility of repatriating any illegal immigrants lies with the ship’s operator if they choose not to seek asylum.
Although the men had the option to request asylum in Spain, which would prevent their return to Africa, it has been reported that they have family in Italy and may decide to seek asylum there. The MSC MARTA is scheduled to visit Gioia Tauro, Italy, as its next port of call.
This incident marks the third occurrence in less than a month of African stowaways being found on top of the rudder of ships arriving at the Canary Islands.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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