Bibby Stockholm Migrants to Return to Barge Following Legionella Alert

 

Migrants previously relocated from the Bibby Stockholm have been issued correspondences by the Home Office, apprising them of their imminent return to the contentious barge.

Approximately 39 migrants were disembarked from the vessel in August, subsequent to the detection of Legionnaires’ disease-causing bacteria in its water reservoir.

Presently, officials have instigated the dispatch of missives to those individuals seeking asylum, previously transferred to hotels, affirming their forthcoming reassignment, albeit without a definitive timeline.

Located at Portland Port in Dorset, the barge has garnered assessment outcomes deeming it free of legionella, signifying the absence of said bacteria.

A representative elucidated, “The Home Office has initiated the issuance of notifications to asylum seekers, confirming the forthcoming re-embarkation onto the Bibby Stockholm, apprising them of accommodation aboard, following the completion of all requisite assessments by the vessel.”

“These missives delineate the ensuing steps for asylum seekers and underscore the policy of providing asylum lodgings exclusively on an obligatory basis.”

“The provisioning of alternative lodging venues, such as this vessel, proves more economically viable for taxpayers and logistically feasible for communities, due to the availability of on-site healthcare and culinary amenities, perpetual security surveillance, and purpose-built secure accommodation provisions.”

Concurrently, a single-day adjudication is being convened in the High Court on Tuesday to deliberate on the admissibility of a legal objection against the barge.

Councillor Carralyn Parkes of Portland Town, who is a resident of the locale, beseeches the High Court to contemplate whether the Home Office’s resolution to station the barge in the port, sans an application for planning consent, transgresses the bounds of legality.

Officials have been engaged in a frenzied endeavour to implement pressing health and safety enhancements aboard the vessel subsequent to the evacuation, further galvanised by a fire inspection conducted by the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, which mandated five expeditious modifications, including an augmentation of fire egress options.

The vessel was put forth as one among several “alternative venues,” encompassing disused military compounds and a former penitentiary, with blueprints to ultimately accommodate up to 500 migrants.

This initiative stands as a linchpin in one of Rishi Sunak’s paramount objectives to “stem the influx” and eradicate the UK’s “legacy” asylum backlog by the culmination of 2023.