A giant barge that will house 500 migrants has docked in Cornwall for a refit – with ministers promising more vessels in the future.
The Bibby Stockholm has arrived in Falmouth for renovations ahead of going into service next month.
It was towed from Italy and will now undergo safety checks as well as being refitted to increase the onboard capacity from just over 200 people.
The vessel will be moved into position off Dorset in the middle of June, and used for single adult male asylum seekers.
Confirming the plan last month, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it will help trim the £6million-a-day cost of housing Channel migrants in hotels.
The Bibby Stockholm has arrived in Falmouth for renovations ahead of going into service next month
The barge was towed from Italy and with now undergo safety checks as well as being refitted to increase the onboard capacity from just over 200 people
He also claimed it would help ‘prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe’.
The Home Office said it was in discussion with other ports and further barges would be announced ‘in due course’.
The Bibby Stockholm barge will provide ‘basic and functional accommodation’ as well as healthcare and catering facilities when it is berthed at Portland in Dorset, according to the Home Office.
The Port of Portland is also set to welcome more than 40 cruise ships over the course of the year, and usually advertises arrival and departure dates on its website to help residents and local businesses plan for busy periods.
However, it has now removed the dates, with a source telling The Times that bosses feared far-right activists would arrange protests when there were large numbers of tourists in the area to maximise their impact.
There will also be around-the-clock security on board to ‘minimise the disruption to local communities’.
The vessel will be moved into position off Dorset in the middle of June
The barge, operated by Liverpool-based Bibby Marine features a games room and bar
The barge offers ‘delicious, nutritious food’ in its restaurant and Wi-Fi throughout the ship
The vessel can house up to 506 people in 222 en-suite bedrooms who will be free to come and go while their asylum claims are processed
However, the Government is facing stiff local opposition to to positioning the Bibby Stockholm at a popular beauty spot.
This is despite suggestions that local councils could be paid up to £3,500 per migrant to accept barges in their ports.
There has also been a backlash from charities and human rights campaigners who say the accommodation is not fit for people fleeing war.
The barge includes a gym, games room and bar. It also has ‘delicious, nutritious food’ in its restaurant and Wi-Fi throughout the ship.
The barge, operated by Liverpool-based Bibby Marine, can house up to 506 people in 222 en-suite bedrooms.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the barge would save taxpayers’ money.
‘We are spending, as a country, £6million a day housing illegal asylum seekers in hotels – that can’t be right,’ he said.
Single adult males will be housed on the barge while their asylum claims are processed
A gym inside the barge, which is owned by Liverpool based company Bibby Marine
It will be the first time asylum seekers in the UK have been housed on an accommodation barge – which is normally used for maritime or offshore workers
The Bibby Stockholm will offer ‘basic and functional accommodation, healthcare provision, catering facilities and 24/7 security
Single adult males will be housed on the barge while their asylum claims are processed. They will not be detained and will be free to come and go.
It will be the first time asylum seekers in the UK have been housed on an accommodation barge – which is normally used for maritime or offshore workers.
Typical charter costs for accommodation barges range from £8,000 to £15,000 a day, according to reports, putting the annual cost at between £2.9million and £5.5million.
This doesn’t include mooring fees plus catering and other costs. But the Bibby Stockholm, built in 1976, is still expected to be cheaper than housing Channel migrants in hotels.
Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the barge would be ‘completely inadequate’ to house ‘vulnerable people who have come to our country in search of safety, having fled beatings and death threats in countries such as Afghanistan and Iran’.
On Saturday and Sunday the Home Office recorded 269 migrant arrivals into the UK. Pictured are a group of people thought to be migrants in Dover on Sunday morning
At least 260 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel this weekend while the rest of the country celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III, according to official figures.
On Saturday and Sunday the Home Office recorded 269 migrant arrivals into the UK.
The latest arrivals were seen this morning after being rescued by a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel.
The group of adults and small children, all thought to be migrants, were seen wearing life jackets and disembarking Dover earlier today.
Government figures reveal that a total of 6,549 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in 156 boats to date in 2023.
In the eight days of May alone, there have already been 603 migrants arriving in the UK.
