Unusual Stowaway Location

[RunAgroundHard]

Incredible that they survived that long, sitting on the rudder.

Men survive 11 days on rudder of ship travelling from Nigeria to Canary Islands

 

[capnsensible]

Not the first time either. Wonder how many didn't make it?

 

[Black Sheep]

Steerage class...

 

[Biggles Wader]

Incredible that they survived that long, sitting on the rudder.

Men survive 11 days on rudder of ship travelling from Nigeria to Canary Islands

11 days on a ship rudder in the Atlantic. Incredible indeed.

 

[Supertramp]

Are you sure they are not being paid to keep orcas at bay?

 

[Kelpie]

I can see that ship from here...

 

[Frogmogman]

Not the first time either. Wonder how many didn't make it?

Quite so. As Tom Jones would say, it’s not unusual.

The stowaways on Nave Andromeda, (the ship boarded by SBS off the isle of white in 2020 after the master said it had been taken over by stowaways) had travelled from Lagos to Las Palmas the same way, where they had been taken off the rudder and put on board the ship by the port authorities.

Seven stowaways and a hijacked oil tanker: the strange case of the Nave Andromeda | Water transport | The Guardian

 

[RunAgroundHard]

… it’s not unusual. …

What an odd point of view. If travelling 5000 km sitting on the rudder of an oil tanker is not unusual, then the moon is made of cheese.

 

[Frogmogman]

What an odd point of view. If travelling 5000 km sitting on the rudder of an oil tanker is not unusual, then the moon is made of cheese.

What I meant is that quite a lot of stowaways have used that technique. I’m not for a moment suggesting that I don’t think it is completely bonkers.

 

[Poignard]

What incredible courage. I hope their quest to find a better life succeeds

 

[mjcoon]

What I meant is that quite a lot of stowaways have used that technique. I’m not for a moment suggesting that I don’t think it is completely bonkers.

Presumably there's a stowaways Facebook page somewhere by which the word spreads that some of them make it...

 

[Leighb]

I suppose it is a bit safer than the wheel bay of an airliner.

 

[Slowboat35]

I suppose it is a bit safer than the wheel bay of an airliner.

What a bizarre concept of "safer"!


Riding on the rudder of a tanker? Unable to sit upright? With no water? On a two weeks' ocean passage?
From Nigeria, an oil producing nation whence you'd expect all tankers to leave loaded to their lines?

Oh! Come on! Pull the other one!

You wouldn't survive there for half an hour on a flat-calm in the Solent with the propwash, even on an empty ship. And on a loaded one with the rudder submerged...

I don't believe a word of it.

 

[Slowtack]

Apparently they had access to a small chamber above the rudder...

 

[Poignard]

I suppose it is a bit safer than the wheel bay of an airliner.

Yes, didn't they once find the severely injured body of an African man in a field somewhere and conclude that he had fallen out of a wheel bay?

 

[Poignard]

What a bizarre concept of "safer"!


Riding on the rudder of a tanker? Unable to sit upright? With no water? On a two weeks' ocean passage?
From Nigeria, an oil producing nation whence you'd expect all tankers to leave loaded to their lines?

Oh! Come on! Pull the other one!

You wouldn't survive there for half an hour on a flat-calm in the Solent with the propwash, even on an empty ship. And on a loaded one with the rudder submerged...

I don't believe a word of it.

I agree it does seem very strange but where else could they come from? And it is not the first instance, according to the Guardian article.

 

[capnsensible]

What a bizarre concept of "safer"!


Riding on the rudder of a tanker? Unable to sit upright? With no water? On a two weeks' ocean passage?
From Nigeria, an oil producing nation whence you'd expect all tankers to leave loaded to their lines?

Oh! Come on! Pull the other one!

You wouldn't survive there for half an hour on a flat-calm in the Solent with the propwash, even on an empty ship. And on a loaded one with the rudder submerged...

I don't believe a word of it.

So happy to get an expert opinion. Well done.

 

[westhinder]

Apparently they had access to a small chamber above the rudder...

That must have been the case. IIRC a couple of years ago stowaways were found on a ship in Antwerp and they too had climbed up via the rudder into the space above
Edited to add: in february this year another stowaway was found on the rudder of a ship in Antwerp, he was evacuated with a container crane, pic and story here: Verstekeling gered op roer van ‘MSC Oriane’ in Churchilldok (update)

 

[wonkywinch]

Yes, didn't they once find the severely injured body of an African man in a field somewhere and conclude that he had fallen out of a wheel bay?

Not a field but a garden in London ..

Body found in London garden fell from Heathrow-bound plane

But there have been many others although this guy obviously chose "bow class" rather than steerage.

 

[Stemar]

Judging by the level of the antifoul, the ship was barely half loaded. Why would they sail from a major oil producer to an importer only half full?

As for the "bow class" ship, obviously her antifoul is about as effective as mine. Presumably, that's because she's been at anchor for a while.