The contract for the Bibby Stockholm barge, which temporarily houses asylum seekers off the coast of Dorset, will not be renewed beyond January, the Home Office has confirmed. The three-storey vessel accommodates up to 500 adult men and is moored off Portland. Extending its use would have incurred costs of over £20m next year.
The Home Office stated the move was part of a commitment to “clear the backlog and fix the asylum system”. Previous plans by the Conservative government introduced the barge as a measure to ease the pressure on the asylum system. The vessel will continue to house migrants until its contract expires in January 2025.
Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, claimed she wants the asylum system to operate “swiftly, firmly and fairly” and to ensure rules are properly enforced. “The Home Secretary has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation which is running up vast bills for the taxpayer,” Eagle said. Ending the use of the Bibby Stockholm forms part of an anticipated £7.7bn saving in asylum costs over the next decade.
Campaigners opposing the barge, concerned that the local community had not been consulted and fearing the impact on local services like healthcare, held protest marches. Additionally, assays of Legionella bacteria were found in the barge’s on-board water system just days after the first migrants boarded in August 2023. Concerns about the conditions were also raised, and welfare fears were sparked after Albanian migrant Leonard Farruku, 27, was found dead in his cabin; it is thought he took his own life.
Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland praised the decision as “welcome”; the council had always been opposed to the barge being sited at Portland Port. “Since the Bibby Stockholm arrived a year ago, we have worked hard to support the residents of the barge and also tried to mitigate the impact on local communities,” he said, adding that they would “work closely with the Home Office and other partners to ensure the smooth running of arrangements over the final few months.”
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