Pregnant woman among ship stowaways

A PREGNANT woman was among 11 Albanian migrants found on a cargo ship at Southampton.

The ship, the MV Salome, is believed to have crossed the Channel from Le Havre, before docking in Southampton, where the migrants were found on Wednesday morning.

It is believed they locked themselves in the loading compartment of a truck and were found by port workers in dock gate 4.

The pregnant woman was taken to hospital, and a 17-year- old boy was transferred to children’s services.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed the other individuals remained in custody and inquiries were ongoing.

The ship, a vehicle carrier which can transport up to 6,000 cars at a ti me, is owned by shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

In a statement, it said: “Having gained illegal access to the Le Havre terminal, the stowaways appear to have had third party assistance in locking themselves in the loading compartment of a truck being transported on one of the cargo decks.

“Wallenius Wilhelmsen is undertaking a full inquiry in conjunction with the port authority in Le Havre as to how the stowaways gained access to the port and vessel and how the various stowaway checks failed to find evidence of illegal entry.”

After a f ull stowaway search using dogs was carried out, the ship left for Baltimore yesterday.

It comes only days after a group of violent Nigerian

‘The stowaways appear to have had third party assistance’

migrants seized control of an oil tanker in the Channel bound for the UK and threatened to kill the crew.

Troops from the Special Boat Service, the maritime special forces unit, stormed the Nave Andromeda on Sunday night and detained seven men.

The s even men were released on bail yesterday, Hampshire Police s ai d. Investigators are continuing their inquiries and the men will remain detained under Border Force powers.