Incredible photo shows 3 African migrants stowed away on a ship’s rudder in the Canary Islands

Incredible photo shows 3 African migrants stowed away on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands

Incredible photo shows 3 African migrants stowed away on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands. Credit: SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO @salvamentogob/Twitter.

Incredible photos show three African migrants stowed away on a ship’s rudder in the Canary Islands before the Spanish coastguard undertook their rescue.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service has reported the rescue of three stowaways travelling on a ship’s rudder in the Canary Islands after its journey from Nigeria.

A photograph shared on Twitter by the coastguard shows the three stowaways sitting on the rudder of the oil and chemical tanker Althini II.

The vessel arrived in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on Monday after an 11-day voyage from Lagos in Nigeria, according to MarineTraffic, a website that tracks the journeys of ships.

The coastguard confirmed their rescue and said that the migrants were taken into the port and attended to by health services.

They tweeted: “This afternoon, the Salvamar Nunki rescued three stowaways located on the rudder blade of the ship Althini II, anchored in the docks of the port of Las Palmas and coming from Nigeria.

“They have been transferred to the port and treated by health services.”

It is not the first time stowaways have been found on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

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

In October 2020, another four people were found by police at Las Palmas after stowing away on the rudder of an oil tanker from Lagos for 10 days.


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Vickie S
Written by

Vickie Scullard

A journalist of more than 12 years from Manchester, UK, Vickie now lives in Madrid and works as a news writer for the Euro Weekly News.

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