Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Stowaways survive 11-day voyage from Nigeria to Canary Islands perched on oil tanker’s rudder

The boat sailed from Lagos in Nigeria to Gran Canaria

(Picture: Salvamento Maritimo/Twitter)

Three stowaways have survived an 11-day voyage from Nigeria to the Canary Islands perched precariously on the rudder of an oil tanker.

The men were discovered by the Spanish coastguard as the ship arrived into port on Monday - having spent the perilous journey around west coast of Africa on an outcrop of metal no larger than an office desk.

A photo, shared by Spain’s Salvamento Maritimo (maritime rescue), showed the men’s feet dangling less than a metre from the water below.

The Salvamento Maritimo said they were transferred to hospitals on the island for medical attention, as they appeared to be suffering from dehydration and hypothermia.

According to the MarineTraffic website, which tracks ships, the Malta-flagged Alithini II left Lagos, Nigeria, on November 17.

It arrived at Gran Canaria’s Las Palmas port on Monday, having travelled more than 2,700 nautical miles - around 3,100 miles.

Though extremely dangerous, it is not the first time stowaways have been found travelling on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

Last year a 14-year-old Nigerian boy was interviewed by Spain’s El Pais newspaper after surviving two weeks on a ship’s rudder. He had also departed from Lagos.

Africans fleeing poverty, conflict and hunger, accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the knock-on effect of the Ukraine war, attempt the perilous crossing to the Canary Islands using small boats.

Two-thirds of African migrants entering Spain are now thought to go via the Canaries, with thousands having made it there so far in 2022 and at least 1,000 having died during the journey so far this year, according to the Walking Borders charity.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.