In 2022, three men from Nigeria survived an astounding and terrifying ordeal after spending 11 days clinging to the rudder of an oil tanker, completely exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, before being rescued by Spanish authorities.
The incident highlights the extreme risks migrants are willing to take to reach Europe, and officials say it is not the first time something like this has happened.
The Alithini II incident
Estas tres personas han viajado unos 6400 kilómetros de Nigeria a Canarias en la pala del timón de un buque petrolero y químico (Althini II).
— Informa Cosmos (@InformaCosmos) March 28, 2024
Han estado 11 DÍAS en ese pequeño espacio. pic.twitter.com/JkusZ3SVWg
On November 17, 2022, the Malta-flagged oil and chemical tanker Alithini II departed from Lagos, Nigeria. When the ship arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria on November 28 after its 11-day voyage, the crew discovered three stowaways perched on the giant metal rudder just above the waterline.
A photograph released by the Spanish coastguard shows the men crouched against the hull, their feet dangling over the ocean’s surface. The Washington Post reported that the men were Nigerian nationals who had hidden in a space above the rudder and remained there for the entire journey.
When they arrived, the men were severely dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia. According to Reuters, one was hospitalized while the other two were returned to the ship for deportation because they had not applied for asylum.
Widespread public and political backlash halted the deportation. After the initial rescue and transfer back to the ship, a Spanish court judge granted them a temporary stay in Spain on humanitarian grounds so they could recover and potentially seek asylum.
The men survived freezing temperatures and rough seas
The journey from Lagos to the Canary Islands is roughly 3,000 miles, or about 1,900 kilometers, with freezing temperatures and rough seas, and no food or fresh water. They faced the constant risk of being swept overboard by waves or losing their grip on the rudder.
Spanish authorities noted that stowaways attempting similar crossings are not uncommon, saying, “It is not the first and it will not be the last. Stowaways do not always have the same luck.”
In August 2023, four Nigerian men survived 14 days on the rudder of a cargo ship bound for Brazil. According to The Guardian, they ran out of food and water after ten days and survived by drinking seawater before being rescued off the coast of Vitória.
Another case in October 2020 involved seven Nigerians who hid in the rudder compartment of the tanker Nave Andromeda as it traveled from Lagos through Las Palmas to France, before being detained by British authorities when the ship reached the United Kingdom.
Reuters notes that Spain’s coastguard has responded to several similar rudder stowaway cases in recent years, reflecting how dangerous and desperate these journeys have become. As one official told The Washington Post, the men’s 11-day ordeal “is far beyond fiction,” a story of survival that reveals both human resilience and the devastating desperation driving migration across the Atlantic.
