Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 13:02, 17 July 2023

Bibby Stockholm at Falmouth Docks in 2023.
History
Name	Bibby Stockholm
Owner	Bibby Maritime
Port of registry	Bridgetown, Barbados
Builder	Nederlandse Scheepsbouw
Completed	1976
Identification	8869476
General characteristics
Type	Accommodation barge
Tonnage	10,659 tons
Length	93.44 m (306.6 ft)
Beam	27.43 m (90.0 ft)
Draught	2.2 m (7.2 ft)
Decks	3
Notes

Bibby Stockholm, an engineless barge, is an accommodation vessel owned by the shipping and marine operations company Bibby Line.

History

The ship was built in 1976 and is flagged in Barbados. It was converted into an accommodation barge in 1992. It was formerly known as Floatel Stockholm and Dino I.

From 1994 to 1998, it was used to house the homeless, including some asylum seekers, in Hamburg, Germany.

In 2005, it began to be used by the Netherlands to detain asylum seekers in Rotterdam. In 2008, an asylum seeker resident of the Bibby Stockholm died of heart failure following repeated failures to provide adequate healthcare.

In 2013, the barge was used by Petrofac as accommodation for construction workers at the Shetland Gas Plant. During this time, it was berthed at Lerwick, Scotland. In 2015, a man from Saltcoats, Ayrshire called His Majesty's Coastguard to report that two bombs had been planted on barges - the accommodation ship Gemini, and the Bibby Stockholm. He admitted a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour and was sentenced to a six-month tagging order. The barge was finally towed away from Lerwick by the Cypriot tug Mustang on 31 May 2017, although it had been unused for over a year. It was subsequently towed to the Danish island of Bornholm.

In August 2017, there was some discussion by a property management company about leasing the barge to provide university accommodation to 400 students in Galway, Ireland, along with the Bibby Bergen. However, the plan was generally not workable - the existing docks were not suitable, and the Supreme Court of Ireland had ruled that such a use would require planning permission.

In June 2018, the barge was moved to Piteå, Sweden, to assist in the construction of Markbygden Wind Farm. It stayed there until at least 2019.

In April 2023, the Government of the United Kingdom announced plans to use the ship to house asylum seekers at Portland Port in Dorset, because it would "offer better value for money for taxpayers than hotels", referring to the £5.6m bill for accommodating asylum seekers in hotels. However, The Guardian reported in July 2023 that the barge would deliver only a trivial cost saving. The plan is for the barge to stay in the port for at least 18 months, containing 506 asylum seekers whose asylum claims are already being considered by the government. The barge would also contain healthcare provision, catering facilities, and 24-hour security. The plans have met wide widespread opposition from humanitarian organisations, the local MP and local authorities—who are Conservatives, the party in government. Dorset Council explored legal action to prevent the barge from arriving. On the morning of 17 July 2023, the barge left Falmouth for Portland Port.

In July 2023, an open letter signed by over 50 NGOs, MPs and peers called on the barge's owner, Bibby Marine, part of Bibby Line, to acknowledge its founder's roots in the Atlantic slave trade and to end the practice of containing asylum seekers on its vessels.

References

1. "Factsheet" (PDF). n01.0d2.myftpupload.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
2. "Bibby Stockholm". Marine Traffic. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
3. Haws, Duncan (1978). Merchant Fleets in Profile: The Burma boats: Henderson & Bibby. P. Stephens – via books.google.com.
4. ^ BalticShipping.com. "BalticShipping.com". www.balticshipping.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
5. "[PDF] Große Anfrage. Bürgerschaft Der Freien Und Hansestadt Hamburg Drucksache 20/ Wahlperiode - Free Download PDF" [Big request. Citizenship Of The Free And Hanseatic City Of Hamburg Printed matter 20/ election period]. silo.tips. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
6. Koch, Sannah (26 October 1994). "Winternotprogramm: Ist mehr wirklich mehr?" [Winter emergency program: is more really more?]. Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). p. 22. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
7. Adu, Aletha (3 April 2023). "Home Office to announce barge as accommodation for asylum seekers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
8. Stevens, John (3 April 2023). "Location chosen for mega-barge that will house 500 asylum seekers on UK coast". mirror. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
9. "Netherlands: Two deaths in immigration detention in 2 months". Statewatch. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
10. Davis, Barney (3 April 2023). "Pictured: 1970s Mega-barge Home Office wants to house 500 refugees in". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
11. "SIBC - Home". www.sibc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
12. ^ Times, Shetland (27 August 2016). "Tagging order for man who claimed bombs were on barges". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
13. Times, Shetland (31 May 2017). "Last 'floatel' leaves Lerwick Harbour". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
14. "Projects". Shetland Marineco Ltd. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
15. "'Floating' accommodation for students being explored in Galway". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
16. White, Ian (18 October 2018). "Bibby Maritime achieves full utilisation". Bibby Line Group. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
17. "Asylum seeker barge plan could face legal challenge". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
18. "Home Office to announce barge as accommodation for asylum seekers". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
19. "Migrants 'to be moved to giant barge and former RAF bases' in bid to slash £5.6m a day hotel costs". LBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
20. "Housing asylum seekers on barge may only save £10 a person daily, report says". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
21. "Barge will house migrants set for asylum, not deportation". The Times. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
22. "Vessel to accommodate migrants". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
23. "Barge to house 500 male migrants off Dorset coast, says government". BBC News. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
24. "Plans for new sites in UK for asylum seekers 'risk humanitarian catastrophe'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
25. "Dorset MP Richard Drax speaks out over Portland Port barge plan". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
26. Syal, Rajeev (3 May 2023). "Dorset Tories voice concerns about barge for asylum seekers". The Guardian.
27. "Bibby Stockholm barge leaving Falmouth and on move to Dorset". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
28. "An Open Letter to Bibby Marine". Refugee Council. Retrieved 12 July 2023.

• 1976 ships
• Barges