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'Terrible experience': How four migrants spent 14 days on ship's rudder in their attempt to reach Europe
They remained huddled just metres above the water amid constant fear of being spotted by the ship’s crew or falling into the ocean infested with sharks and whales
Nigerian migrants are rescued by Brazilian police in this undated video grab. Brazilian Federal Police/Handout via REUTERS
Four Nigerian stowaways, who were rescued off the coast of Brazil last month, survived by drinking seawater and their own urine. They spent 14 days on a cargo ship’s rudder in a bid to reach Europe.
Now, the stowaways have narrated how they remained huddled just metres above the water's surface amid constant fear of being spotted by the ship’s crew or falling into the ocean infested with sharks and whales, according to media reports.
The four migrants embarked on their journey from Nigeria in June hiding on the rudder, a device used to steer a ship, of the huge Liberian-flagged Ken Wave cargo ship. They hoped to reach Europe but ended up in Brazil after covering 5,600 km hiding in a small space in the rudder area, reported news agency Reuters.
During their perilous 14-day journey, the four men used a net and tied themselves to it with a rope to avoid falling into the ocean. After ten days of hiding, they ran out of food and water and resorted to drinking seawater and even their own urine to make it to their destination, according to The Times.
According to 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, one of the Nigerian stowaways, it was a “terrible experience” for him to hide on the ship. “On board, it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I am here,” he said after being rescued, the report said.
Yeye added that his peanut and palm oil farm was destroyed in floods this year making his family homeless.
Another survivor, Roman Ebimene Friday, 35, said that his journey began on June 27 when a fisherman friend of his rowed him onto the cargo ship that was docked in Lagos, Nigeria. Ebimene reached the rudder area but was surprised to find three other men already hiding there, The Times report added.
Ebimene said he did not know the other men and feared they might throw him in the water. He also recalled spotting whales and sharks following the large vessel as they remained hidden on the rudder, the report said.
The four also feared being caught by the crew and tried to remain quiet. “Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water. So we taught ourselves never to make a noise,” Ebimene was quoted as saying by Reuters.
With limited space and engine noise, the stowaways also faced difficulty sleeping during the 14 days.
The four Nigerian migrants were rescued off the coast of Vitoria in Brazil on July 10 by the Brazilian federal police, according to Reuters.
Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, two of the four stowaways, have now applied for asylum in Brazil while the other two chose to return to Nigeria, the report added.
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