4 Nigerian stowaways found in Brazil; Spain rescued two; 5 aboard a tanker vessel en route Spain arrested.
Four stowaways have been found alive in the rudder trunk of a Liberian-flagged ship after a 5,000 nautical mile voyage from Nigeria to Brazil.
On Monday Spanish coastguard rescued two other Nigerians who stowed away on the rudder of a containership named MSC Marta. The ship arrived Canary Islands on Monday after sailing from Lagos and Lome ports.
The stowaways were located on Monday morning by Brazilian Federal Police after the ship arrived in Vitória, the capital city of Epirito Santo. The vessel, which has not been identified by name, reportedly departed Lagos 13 days earlier on June 27.
The men were taken ashore and provided medical care due to their poor health condition. They will now remain under the custody and responsibility of Brazil’s Maritime Agency until they can be repatriated to Nigeria.
Stowaways and smuggling within the steering gear trunk, a concealed space above the rudder that can only be accessed from the outside of the ship, pose a well-documented and often fatal problem within the maritime industry.
In November 2022, three stowaways were rescued in Spain’s Canary Islands after enduring an 11-day journey on the rudder of a fuel tanker originating from Nigeria. A similar incident in 2019 prompted the Swedish Club to issue an industry alert, highlighting the urgency of addressing this ongoing issue.
Earlier, operatives of the Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have arrested five stowaways aboard a tanker vessel en route Las Palmas, Spain.
NIS spokesman, Sunday James, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja over the weekend.
He said the Command’s Comptroller, Olubusola Fashakin, revealed that the arrest was made possible through a tip-off by the master of the vessel about 156 nautical miles off Lagos shoreline.
James said Fashakin, who was at hand to receive the stowaways, cautioned desperate youths against embarking on such risky adventures.
The service spokesman also stated that the suspects have been handed over to the police for prosecution.
