Bulk Carrier & Cruise Ship Rescue Migrants Off Canary Islands

A bulk carrier and a cruise ship jointly rescued over 60 migrants stranded at sea between Cape Verde and Tenerife. The migrants were attempting to reach the Spanish Canary Islands in a small fishing boat, which malfunctioned in bad weather, resulting in the deaths of five individuals.

On Wednesday, June 19, the bulk carrier Phillip Oldendorff spotted a drifting boat 440 nautical miles south of Tenerife and came to the migrants' aid.

Subsequently, an Oceania Cruises ship, Insignia, was redirected to pick up the 68 migrants. Once on board, the migrants received medical care and other necessary facilities.

The cruise ship also managed to recover three bodies from the boat. However, due to adverse weather conditions, the crew could not retrieve two additional bodies and left a tracking device to assist in their recovery later. On Thursday, June 20, a Spanish Coast Guard vessel set out from the Canary Islands to meet the cruise ship and locate the site of the wrecked migrant boat.

Insignia is a small cruise ship registered under the Marshall Islands flag. The 670-passenger vessel is on a 180-day world cruise that began in January. The ship departed from the Port of Mindelo, Cape Verde, on June 18 and was scheduled to arrive in Tenerife, Spain, on June 21.