Nigeria stowaways must return home: Spain

Three migrants rescued in Spain’s Canary Islands, after apparently enduring an 11-day journey from Nigeria crouched on the rudder of a fuel tanker, should now be returned home under stowaway laws, a police spokesman said, yesterday.

The 183-metre ship Alithini II, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on November 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 migrants may be able to remain in Spain if they claim asylum, Helena Maleno, director of migration non-governmental organisation Walking Borders, said.

The coast guard said the migrants were rescued by a coast guard vessel at about 7pm local time on Monday, and treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia.