Nigerian stowaways found on ship’s rudder seek asylum in Spain

One of them remains in hospital while the other two have been released, Spanish authorities said.

The three men perched on the rudder of an oil tanker anchored in the port of the Canary Islands, Spain (Salvamento Maritimo via AP)

The three Nigerian stowaways found on an oil tanker’s rudder after an 11-day ocean voyage from Lagos to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands are seeking asylum in Spain, officials have said.

The three men were picked up on Monday by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service from the rudder of the Alithini II ship and transferred to two hospitals on the island of Gran Canaria with symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia.