The ship has three floors, a total of 222 cabins, and is designed to accommodate about 500 asylum seekers.
The first batch of migrants, all men, began housing on Monday, with more expected to arrive in the coming weeks as part of a government policy to reduce the high costs of hotels hosting asylum seekers.
“The health and wellbeing of those on board is our top priority. Environmental samples from Bibi Stockholm’s water supply showed levels of Legionella and further investigation is required,” an Interior Ministry spokesman told the media today.
He added: “Based on these results, the Home Office has been working closely with the UKHSA (Health and Safety Agency) and following their advice in line with long-established public health processes.”
“As a precaution, the 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the ship this week are being disembarked while further assessment is carried out. No one on board has shown symptoms of Legionella and asylum seekers have been given appropriate advice and support,” the spokesman said.
Sources clarified that the samples were only related to the ship’s water supply system and therefore there was no immediate risk to communities in the South Dorset area.
Local authorities are estimated to spend around £6m (€6.96m) a day housing irregular migrants in hotels.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, director of migrant and refugee rights at humanitarian group Amnesty International (AI), criticized the measure this week, saying it was “an utterly disgraceful asylum escape from horror, The human way of conflict and refugees”. persecution. ”