Bibby Stockholm: What life aboard ‘quasi-prison’ barge will look like for asylum seekers

Standing behind a 15ft metal fencing and two sets of guarded gates, the Bibby Stockholm - the Home Office’s first asylum seeker barge - has stood empty since it arrived in Dorset three weeks ago.

But the three-level vessel, docked in the picturesque port of Portland, has now taken its first occupants on board, with hundreds more set to be moved to the 222-cabin barge in the coming days.

The first group of migrants arrived on the boat on Monday as ministers pushed on with the plans, despite a raft of opposition and repeated delays.

Once it is filled, up to six people will be packed into each of the beige-walled rooms, which line endless narrow linoleum-floored corridors.

Most cabins feature an austere two-person bunk bed, desk, metal wardrobe and en-suite bathroom, with the door just an arm’s length away from the bedframe. But a small number of slightly larger rooms have two or three bunk beds in each.

Televisions hang on the wall but have been disconnected from all networks, in a move contractors hope will encourage migrants to “socialise” and take part in communal activities.

Calculations by The Independent show that, at full capacity, each asylum seeker will have less living space than an average car parking bay, even when taking shared spaces and outdoor courtyards into account.

And for the 500 people the government intends to pack on board, coming and going will not be easy.

Every time they enter and leave the barge, they must go through airport-style security with walk-through scanners and checks on any bags or shopping.

Security guards will be on board at all hours, including some with a military background, who have been trained for a range of scenarios including potential disputes and fights.

No one can leave the “secure compound” surrounding the vessel without waiting for a shuttle bus to take them to the port exit, which officials say is needed for safety reasons.

Once at the main gates, anyone is free to leave but the Home Office is trying to incentivise asylum seekers to make use of hourly buses into the resort town of Weymouth.

People will be subject to a voluntary code of conduct, which includes returning to the barge by 11pm and sleeping there every night. Guests are not allowed, and anyone who is not back by that time will be phoned and offered a taxi to collect them.

Officials showing journalists around the Bibby Stockholm on Friday detailed a host of planned activities including sports events, allotments, cycling, hiking and festival excursions.

English classes are also being planned, and contractors are setting up a computer room and TV lounges on board.

There are two outdoor courtyards, a gym and a multi-faith prayer room, although a bar advertised on owner Bibby Marine’s website is now off-limits to asylum seekers and reserved as a staff lounge.

A raft of contractors commissioned by Australian travel firm Corporate Travel Management, which is running the barge as part of a wider contract worth £1.6bn, are looking after laundry services, and 24-hour food provision.

A draft menu stuck to the wall of the canteen includes a range of soups, stews, roast turkey, “drums chicken” and mysterious “beef collage”.

Following an outbreak of diphtheria at the Manston detention centre, and a scabies case at the Wethersfield military base, a nurse will be on site five days a week and able to refer patients to a GP if necessary.

But this is not the first time asylum seekers have been housed on the Bibby Stockholm. It saw at least one person die, and reports of rape and abuse on board, when it was used by the Dutch government to detain refugees in the 2000s.

A 2008 Amnesty International report obtained by The Independent contains testimony from a 32-year-old asylum seeker called Ben, who described “four people in a cell” on board.

He said there were “frequent fights” over the television, cleaning and noise, adding: “There is only a little daylight in the cells … in the morning the guards would open the cell with their nose covered to protect themselves against the stench.

“The conditions force you into submission; they kill you psychologically.”

The Bibby Stockholm was later used for commercial contracts to house workers, with its owners saying a “major refurbishment programme” before a 2013 charter for Petrofac created the current layout.

Only single adult men will be housed on the barge, following “suitability” assessments and security checks, the Home Office said.

It said the first 50 asylum seekers will be brought on “within weeks” but has not given a date, as contractors continue working on the barge’s facilities and services ahead of the final checks.

Protesters from opposing groups have been stationed outside the entrance for days, and locals fear rising tensions driven by expected visits from far-right activists.

Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, has previously called the barge a “quasi-prison”, but aid authorities were working to “mitigate concerns as far as possible”.

“I remain very disappointed that this barge is being located in Portland Port, which is highly restricted and is the wrong place and solution to this issue,” he told The Independent.

“However, everything that can be done to accommodate the 506 migrants is being done. The government has given us the money that was asked for, although there are still concerns how long this funding will last for. We will continue to hold the Home Office to account.”

The government insists the barge will be cheaper than hotels, where around 50,000 asylum seekers are currently housed at a cost of £6m a day but have refused to estimate the cost of each place.

As well as the lucrative contract for operators Corporate Travel Management, the Home Office has given Dorset Council a £380,000 one-off grant and £3,500 for each occupied bed on the barge.

It is also giving an undisclosed amount of money to fund NHS services for migrants and cover the extra demand on local police.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, said: “This government has been clear that those who arrive in the UK illegally should not be housed in expensive hotels. Our use of alternative accommodation sites and vessels provide basic and appropriate standards for small boats arrivals whilst their claims are determined.

“We are providing substantial financial support to the local council and are committed to working with key stakeholders to ensure the Portland vessel and Wethersfield site have as little impact as possible for communities.”

The Home Office said it plans to move 3,000 people to the barge and military sites by the autumn, but its attempts to convert two former RAF bases and an ex-prison into asylum accommodation are subject to an ongoing legal challenge yet to be heard by the High Court.

Suella Braverman declared an “emergency” to bypass normal planning permission, with her lawyers telling the court that asylum seekers could be made homeless if hotel places run out.

But earlier this month, a Home Office official told MPs the department was paying for 5,000 empty hotel beds as a “buffer” for expected high crossings.

Almost 14,400 migrants have arrived on small boats so far this year, and the total is approaching the record levels seen in 2022 despite the prime minister’s claim his strategy to “stop the boats” was working.

The government has hailed the passing of its Illegal Migration Act this week as a means of deterring small boat crossings.

But although it gives powers to detain and deport asylum seekers arriving by irregular means, the Court of Appeal’s finding that the Rwanda deal is unlawful means there is nowhere to send them to.