The story of three men who fought to survive on the open sea Number of new corona infections in China is falling slightly

Three men are hunched over the helm of a huge tanker. Her legs dangle half a meter above the water. Above them rises a gigantic steel colossus. That they are still alive is nothing short of a miracle.

On November 17, 2022, the oil tanker Alithini II, a 183-meter vessel built in 2008 and flying the Maltese flag, left Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. The tanker entered the Gulf of Guinea, circumnavigated West Africa, reached the Atlantic Ocean and finally anchored on the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria. The journey took eleven days – with the three stowaways at the helm.

The three men were found on the rudder blade by the Spanish coastguard on Monday afternoon in the port of Las Palmas and arrested.

Fight to survive

The men clung to the helm of the tanker and faced fluctuating temperatures, rough seas and an uncertain future. A violent swell or careless movement would have resulted in certain death in the ocean. There was barely room for the men to lie down on the small oar tray. It is unclear whether there was an interior space accessible to the men behind the rudder blade.

The men would come from sub-Saharan countries, according to the Spanish coast guard. How they got on the rudder blade is unclear. A captain told the Spanish newspaper “El País” that it wasn’t that hard to get on a rudder blade. Probably because of the risk of imitation, the expert does not go into details.

But stowaways are a delicate matter for the ship’s crew: “It means more work for the workers, who sometimes lose their cabins to isolate them. All this leads to tensions,” said the captain. That is why the captains and crews took “extreme precautions” and often thoroughly checked the ship before departing.

Should the crew discover stowaways on board during the voyage, the captain will assume responsibility for people attempting to emigrate to another country. The captain should therefore take care of the repatriation.

Hypothermic and “moderately” dehydrated

When the men reached the Spanish island, they were taken to hospital hypothermic and “moderately” dehydrated. How they fed during those eleven days is another open question.

One thing is clear: the three men are not the first to risk the risky crossing. In 2020, the same incredible story happened: three men, including a 14-year-old Nigerian boy, survived a two-week journey on the helm of a tanker. This journey also started in Lagos.

The 183-meter tanker is said to have traveled to Gran Canaria loaded with 50,000 tons of fuel – and three stowaways. The Spanish newspaper El Pais later spoke to the boy, who is said to have barely survived the crossing:

More than 20,000 migrants fled from Nigeria to Gran Canaria last year, according to the Red Cross. More than 1100 people are said to have died on the open sea. However, the number of undeclared cases is likely to be significantly higher as, like these six survivors, many go undetected during illegal crossings.

Migration advisor Txema Santana is sure: