Plan to house UK boat arrivals in $3bn Aussie barge hits glitch

Plan to transfer asylum seekers to a huge floating barge in Dorset hits hurdle as migrants successfully claim they’re scared of water, after traumatic experiences.

The Bibby Stockholm immigration barge in Portland, England. Picture: Getty Images.

The British government is seeking to slash its $14million a day bill caring for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers with the first tranche of arrivals being housed in a huge Australian-contracted three storey floating barge in Dorset on Monday.

But the transfer of up to 500 men aged between 18 to 65 hit a hurdle in the first hours with as many as 20 asylum seekers successfully launching a legal case to prevent their transfer because they were scared of water, having had traumatic experiences at sea.

In 2022 46,000 asylum seekers arrived in the UK by small boat, crossing the Channel and they have been accommodated in hotels across the country, costing the taxpayers huge amounts of money while their claims – which sometimes takes years – are assessed.

Figures released this week show the UK government is currently housing 50,000 asylum seekers, up 10,000 from December when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak first announced an end to the use of expensive hotels.

The British government recently contracted Australian company Corporate Travel Management (CTM) with a highly lucrative $3bn two year deal to provide the bridging accommodation and services.

The first barge, the Bibby Stockholm, is moored off Dorset and another two are being planned.

But as the first migrants arrived on Monday to stay at the barge – which is freely accessed, with a request that the migrants return by 11.30pm each night – charity groups protested that the barge was akin to a floating prison.

Care4Calais said: “Amongst our clients are people who are disabled, who have survived torture and modern slavery and who have had traumatic experiences at sea. To house any human being in a ‘quasi floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is inhumane. To try and do so with this group of people is unbelievably cruel. Even just receiving the notices is causing them a great deal of anxiety.”

The 222 rooms on the Bibby Stockholm each have a window and contain bunk beds, a television, desk and wardrobe, shower and toilet. A gymnasium, 24 hour canteen, and organised activities, including guided hikes in the nearby countryside, are also provided.

The asylum seekers are provided with the free accommodation, free food and free transport into nearby Weymouth, as well as free taxi services out of hours.

The Migration Observatory reported that most of the arrivals into the UK are economic migrants rather than refugees, especially those from Albania, a country considered “safe”. The asylum seekers mainly came from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, the group said.

The awarding of the contract to CTM has raised eyebrows because it was not put out to tender. The government had used the same company for covid quarantine purposes in 2021.