The first migrants – whose number has not yet been determined – were already on board the three-story barge consisting of 222 cabins, named Bibby Stockholm, the media added.
An undetermined number of migrants began being accommodated this Monday on a ship anchored off the coast of Dorset, in southern England, where the British Government will house around 500 asylum seekers, according to local media.
The first migrants – whose number has not yet been determined – were already on board the three-story barge consisting of 222 cabins, named Bibby Stockholm, the media added.
British executives believe that these barges will reduce the bill paid at hotels to accommodate new arrivals, although the move has been criticized by humanitarian organizations and local entities in the Dorset area.
The plan is that the ship will accommodate asylum seekers for eighteen months.
It is estimated that local authorities spend around six million pounds (6.96 million euros) per day to accommodate migrants in abnormal situations in hotels.
Director of migrant and refugee rights at humanitarian organization Amnesty International (AI), Steve Valdez-Symonds, today criticized the move, stating that it was “a truly shameful way of protecting people fleeing terror, conflict and persecution.”
“Housing people on floating barges is likely to be re-traumatizing,” he added.
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