Three stowaways survive 11 days on ship's rudder from Nigeria to Canary Islands

Three men managed to survive their eleven-day voyage on a ship's rudder. The three stowaways were found by the Spanish coastguard on their arrival in the Canary Islands on Monday.

The oil and chemical tanker Alithini II had departed from Lagos, Nigeria, on November 17, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking website.

In photos that have now gone viral on the internet, the three men can be seen perched on the ship's rudder just a few feet above the Atlantic Ocean waters.

The Spanish coastguard rescued them, took them into the port, and gave them first aid. The three men were later admitted to a hospital, where they were diagnosed with moderate dehydration and hypothermia.

It is now up to the operator of the ship to send them safely back. They can, however, stay in Spain if they claim asylum.

This is not the first time that stowaways have been found travelling on the rudder of a commercial ship. In 2020, Spanish authorities spotted six people travelling from Nigeria on the rudders of two tankers.

One of them was a 14-year-old boy who described the journey as harrowing. In an interview with the Spanish daily El Pais, the boy said that they had to take turns sleeping, that they were cold and wet most of the time, and that he was nearly thrown off the rudder after a fight.

The Canary Islands are a popular escape for African migrants who wish to reach Europe. But it is one of the most dangerous routes.

Around 1,000 migrants and refugees lost their lives trying to reach the Spanish coast in September, according to a report in Aljazeera. However, there has been an overall decrease in the number of people who have tried to make it to the Canary Islands this year.

The number of migrants arriving illegally on the islands through the sea fell by 17.6% in the first ten months of 2022 from a year earlier, according to Spain's Interior Ministry.