Asylum seekers are being escorted off the Bibby Stockholm barge just four days after boarding, after Legionella bacteria was found in the water system.
Legionella bacteria can cause a serious lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease, though none of those on the barge are reported to have any symptoms.
The first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge docked in Portland, Dorset, on Monday, with more arriving a day later.
It is now understood that all 39 asylum seekers will disembark the vessel as a precautionary measure and move to alternative accommodation.
People boarding the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge at Portland Port in Dorset.
PA
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.
“Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation.
“Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.
“As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.
Rival protesters argue in Portland in Dorset after the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge arrived from dry dock in Falmouth, Cornwall. PA“No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires’, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.
“The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel.
“Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person to person.”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has confirmed plans to go ahead with the move despite the Fire Brigades Union raising concerns over the increased capacity.
BIBBY STOCKHOLM LATEST:
The Bibby Stockholm will house 500 migrantsPAWhen up and running, up to 500 men aged between 18 and 65 will be housed in the temporary floating accommodation while waiting on the outcome of their asylum application.
Where the barge was initially designed with a capacity of 222 people in mind, the government has renovated the boat to fit 500 people in six person cabins of dormitory bunk beds.
Firefighters have described the vessel docked off the Dorset coast as a “potential death trap” due to fire risk and overcrowding.
Currently docked in Dorset’s Portland Port, the Bibby Stockholm barge once housed oil and gas workers, and has been occupied by asylum seekers in other countries in the past.
Richard Drax, the Tory MP for South Dorset, has complained that “none of the key questions have been answered” about the barge, which is in his constituency.
Ministers have pointed to the need to take drastic action to cut down on the £6million daily spend on housing asylum seekers in hotels.
