Spain’s Canary Islands police spokesperson said migrants were rescued on the island after an 11-day journey hunched on the rudder of a fuel tanker from Nigeria, He said the migrant should be returned home under stowaway regulations.
The three stowaways are depicted squatting on the rudder under the hull of the Alithini II, barely above the waterline, in a photograph published on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday.
The 183-metre ship, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on Nov. 17 and navigating up the West African coast, according to Marine Traffic.
The ship’s captain confirmed to the Red Cross that the ship had sailed from Nigeria 11 days earlier.
A Canary Islands police spokesperson said it was up to the ship’s operator to take care of stowaways, provide them with temporary accommodation and return them to their origin as soon as possible.
However, the director of migration of the non-governmental organisation Walking Borders, Helena Maleno, said the migrants may be able to remain in Spain if they claim asylum.
“On several previous occasions, stowaways were able to remain in Spain with political asylum,” Maleno said.
According to the public shipping database Equasis, Alithini II, which is owned by Gardenia Shiptrade SA, is managed by Athens-based Astra Ship Management.
Astra Ship Management did not reply to requests for comment right away.
The migrants were rescued by a coast guard vessel on Monday at 7 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), according to the coast guard.
The stowaways were treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia, according to Canary Islands emergency services and the Red Cross.
One of the migrants was in a more critical condition and had to be transferred to another hospital on the island.
