Stowaways survive 11-day voyage from Nigeria to Canary Islands perched on oil tanker’s rudder

Three stowaways have survived an 11-day voyage from Nigeria to the Canary Islands perched precariously on the rudder of an oil tanker.

The men were discovered by the Spanish coastguard as the ship arrived into port on Monday - having spent the perilous journey around west coast of Africa on an outcrop of metal no larger than an office desk.

A photo, shared by Spain’s Salvamento Maritimo (maritime rescue), showed the men’s feet dangling less than a metre from the water below.

The Salvamento Maritimo said they were transferred to hospitals on the island for medical attention, as they appeared to be suffering from dehydration and hypothermia.

According to the MarineTraffic website, which tracks ships, the Malta-flagged Alithini II left Lagos, Nigeria, on November 17.

It arrived at Gran Canaria’s Las Palmas port on Monday, having travelled more than 2,700 nautical miles - around 3,100 miles.

Though extremely dangerous, it is not the first time stowaways have been found travelling on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

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

Africans fleeing poverty, conflict and hunger, accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the knock-on effect of the Ukraine war, attempt the perilous crossing to the Canary Islands using small boats.

Two-thirds of African migrants entering Spain are now thought to go via the Canaries, with thousands having made it there so far in 2022 and at least 1,000 having died during the journey so far this year, according to the Walking Borders charity.