This week, the image of three young people at the helm of a moving ship, desperately trying to emigrate to the Canary Islands from Nigeria after 11 days at sea, shocked the world and begged a single question: how did they survive? such a long, cruel and dangerous journey?
The answer lies in a few factors. But one thing above all: happiness.
In an insane crossing of this nature, exposed to the elements of nature at sea (waves, wind, humidity, cold, etc.), the chances of survival are minimal if not nonexistent depending on the weather conditions during the crossing.
Despite this, the three survived, although they arrived in the Canary Islands very weak and dehydrated and one of them remains in the hospital.
But how did they pull off such a feat?
above the rudder
First of all, it must be clarified that the three Nigerians did not sail exactly at the helm throughout the voyage, as can be seen in the photo that has gone around the world, but in the “hole” that exists above it, called the rudder box a partially enclosed cabin that houses the shaft that moves the equipment.
It was there all the time, crouched, as the height of said box is usually less than five feet (less still on smaller ships like the oil tanker Althini II, with which they were embarked clandestinely in the port of Lagos, the capital of Nigeria), that the three of them spent most of the trip mainly at night to rest a little albeit in a very critical situation, because the space in the rudder box is narrow, unhealthy and very dangerous.
Image: Sea rescue in Spain
“Inverted Water Tank”
“A ship’s rudder box is like an inverted water tank,” explains practical Fabio Fontes, the elder at the port of Santos who has been ferrying ships to and from the country’s largest port for over 40 years.
“It’s partially open at the bottom to allow passage for the rudder stock, which is about the diameter of a rod, but is hermetically sealed at the top, forming a kind of box with a hole in the bottom. It is used for access by maintenance teams when they are checking the operation of the rudder,” explains Fontes.
“The Nigerians found shelter there. Not on top of the rudder as the photo suggests. Nevertheless, it is a hideous situation in terms of safety and comfort,” says the practitioner, who, despite his experience of more than four decades On ships, was also impressed by the image of the three young men sitting at the helm of a moving oil tanker.
The photo was taken by Orlando Ramos Alayón, captain of the Salvamar Nunk, a Coast Guard boat that rescued them.
Image: Sea rescue in Spain
If they fell into the sea, they would die.
According to Fontes, the rudder of a ship of this type, although gigantic in size and weighing around 30 tons, usually takes less than 30 seconds to make the full sidetoside movement to steer the ship.
When this happened while underway without warning to them the Nigerians had to be quick and take cover in the box or hold on to the rudder (which isn’t easy as it’s a nonmanufactured piece of equipment to have someone on top) to avoid being thrown into the water.
If that happened falling into the water while the ship was moving it would mean certain death from exhaustion and subsequent drowning.
If none of them survived, no one would know of the three young people’s deaths because they were traveling as stowaways.
would they lie
On Friday, the three young Nigerians, aged between 23 and 27, whose names have not yet been released, made their first statement to the Canary Islands Police.
In it, they said that just before leaving Lagos port, they climbed into the helm of the ship with the help of a man in a small boat who would have been willing to help them.
But police suspect they may have “contracted” the trip to groups that specialize in bringing immigrants to Europe illegally, because there were two crucial points for a successful crossing: The ship had to go from Nigeria to the Canary Islands Islands go, European area closest to Africa so the voyage doesn’t become too long, and it needs to be lightly loaded so the rudder box doesn’t get submerged, which happens when a ship is loaded to the waterline of the hull.
“If more cargo entered the port or the ship changed course, they would die,” guarantees the experienced pilot at the port of Santos.
Only a high degree of desperation would cause someone to embark like that,” the specialist concluded.
They lost some of the water they had
In their testimony, the young people also said that each carried a backpack of groceries — biscuits, basically — on their backs, but that one of the backpacks fell into the sea as they climbed onto the wheel, and they lost much of the water they had for travel.
This made them thirsty, they even drank some sea water and were very dehydrated when they were found, as salt water dries out the organism even more.
other torments
In addition to hunger, thirst and total malaise, the three Nigerians endured other torments during the ordeal that lasted more than a dozen days.
One of them was the cold because they also spent most of their time wet.
“However, when the ship is empty, the rudder box is a reasonably protected place because it is above the water, the sea is constantly lapping and it is impossible to stay completely dry,” explains pilot Fabio Fontes. “And the human body quickly loses temperature when wet,” he guarantees.
When they were rescued, in addition to weakness and dehydration, the three Nigerians also suffered from hypothermia, which is the condition in which the human body loses more temperature than it can generate due to prolonged exposure to cold.
barnacles
Another torment was barnacles, sea creatures that stick to the submerged surfaces of ships and become real razors.
On ships, barnacles accumulate in abundance on all parts that are in direct contact with the sea, especially submerged ones such as rudders.
During the entire journey, the three suffered painful cuts and bruises caused by the barnacles on the rudder.
Waves could wash them into the sea
In addition, helm stations are plagued by the intense noise from proximity to the ship’s engine and the constant vibration of the rudder, making a good night’s sleep impossible in addition to the lack of space, they sleep three people as they are typically around 1.50 x 1.50 measure, not counting the thickness of the axis it crosses.
And there was still the danger always latent that a wave during the crossing would completely cover the rudder, inundating the box and tearing it out to sea which the Nigerians were very fortunate to avoid.
Others had already done so.
Although chilling, it wasn’t the first time this type of suicidal crossing had been carried out on the increasingly busy migratory route between Africa and the Canary Islands, which, as part of Spain, have been transformed into a gateway of sorts to Europe by African immigrants.
In the last two years alone, five other Nigerians have done the same, also at the helm of two different ships. And they survived too, spurring the group spotted this week to copy them.
Can you stay in Spain?
Sensitized by the struggles and suffering of the three young Nigerians, human rights NGOs are now fighting for a legal right to stay in Spain, which at least initially works.
Two of the three Nigerians who should have been returned to the ship and deported from the Canary Islands under Spanish immigration laws have applied for asylum and are staying on the islands, at least for the time being including the third, still in hospital.
The hope is that they can get permission from Spain to stay in Europe, the group’s main objective as they embark on this desperate journey of nearly 4,500 kilometers on the open sea at the helm of a moving ship.
If that happens, the story of three brave Nigerian migrants will finally have a happy ending after so much suffering.
A stowaway who did well
But it won’t be the first time that stowaways hiding aboard ships have been rewarded instead of penalized.
One of the most famous cases occurred almost a century ago, in September 1928, and involved a 17yearold American boy named Billy Gawronski.
An unconditional admirer of the famous American explorer Richard Byrd, one of the pioneers in Antarctica, Billy had no doubts: when he learned that the idol’s boat was anchored in his city’s harbor, he tried three times to break into it in in all of them he was discovered and arrested.
But, learning of the boy’s stubbornness, Byrd sent for him and after a long conversation was convinced by Billy himself to have him as a crew member on his boat, which would then embark on another expedition to Antarctica.
Not only did Billy embark on this reckless voyage as a volunteer seaman, years later he became one of America’s most famous polar voyage captains click here to read this interesting story.
The boy who wanted to go into a frenzy knew very well what he wanted.
Also the three young Nigerians who took the helm of a ship.
But they suffered terror in pursuit.