Freight News, Sea

People-smugglers turn to cargo ships

[ January 6, 2015   //   Chris ]

Migrant-smugglers are increasingly turning to larger cargo ships instead of using small boats to move people across the Mediterranean, according to the Frontex EU border agency. The recent interceptions off the coast of Italy of the Blue Sky M with 796 migrants and 359 on board the Ezadeen were not isolated incidents – there have been around 15 similar occurences since August 2014. The smugglers have been buying scrap freighters and setting them off from Turkey with migrants aboard, the crew abandoning the vessel once it reaches EU waters.

Immigrants have been paying around €6,000 a head for a place on the cargo ships, says the EUObserver website. This is around three times the going rate for a place in a small boat, but the cargo ships up to 100m long are perceived as a safer bet.

Tags: Frontex