Maritime experts and legal practitioners have raised alarm over the persistent and unlawful killing of stowaways on the high seas, condemning what they describe as a disturbing trend of extra-judicial executions by crew members of foreign vessels.
The condemnations come as revelations emerge that more than 20 stowaways may have been killed and thrown overboard in separate incidents within the last five years.
At the heart of the issue lies not only a humanitarian crisis, but a growing economic burden. Shipping companies operating within Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea are incurring heavy financial losses in dealing with stowaway incidents.
Data sourced from Africa Risk Compliance (ARC) Limited show that managing each stowaway comes at a high cost—averaging more than $6,000 per person, and in some cases rising to over $17,000 per incident. These sums cover repatriation, legal formalities, port clearance, and added security.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), in its 2021/2022 report, recorded 345 stowaway incidents involving nearly 900 individuals globally, costing the industry close to $6 million. Vessels targeted range from container ships to general cargo and car carriers. The stowaways often conceal themselves in perilous compartments—such as rudder trunks, cargo holds, or among stacked containers—devoid of oxygen, food, or water.
Investigations by Shipping Position Daily show that in October 2022, the Liberian Immigration Service returned 11 Nigerian stowaways to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), after they were found aboard a foreign cargo vessel. The deportees which included one Cameroonian, had boarded the ship Ophelia Panama from Tin Can Island Port in Apapa, Lagos, under the belief that the ship was bound for Europe.
Desperate and starving after days in hiding, the men revealed themselves to the crew, only to be met with violence. The survivors alleged they were beaten, sprayed with chemical substances, and thrown into the sea. Two of the 13 stowaways died, while the remaining 11 were rescued by Liberian fishermen and later repatriated to Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Similarly, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), in conjunction with the South African Police Services (SAPS), investigated a 2020 incident in which two Tanzanian stowaways were allegedly cast overboard by the crew of MV Top Grace, a Panama-flagged vessel. The stowaways had boarded at Durban’s Maydon Wharf and were discovered days later. They claim the crew forced them off the ship on makeshift rafts with life jackets and bottles of water. They drifted for two days before been washed ashore at Zinkwazi Beach. Following their complaint, the vessel was detained in Richards Bay, and seven crew members, including the captain, were charged with attempted murder.
Just last month, the Nigerian Navy Ship NNS BEECROFT handed over another 13 stowaways made up of both Nigerian and Burkinabé, to the Nigerian Immigration Service in Apapa.
In a related incident, four young Nigerians were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean after allegedly being tossed overboard by the crew of another vessel. The men—James John, Favour Efe, Kingsley Williams, and Kingsley Mathew, had reportedly boarded the vessel in a desperate bid to escape Nigeria’s economic hardship. Their lives were saved through a timely rescue operation coordinated by a maritime logistics company owned by France-based Nigerian businessman, Harrison Niyi Alonge, a native of Ekiti State.
Reacting to these disturbing trends, the Ports Facility Security Officers Forum of Nigeria (PFSOFON) issued a strong condemnation of the unlawful treatment of stowaways. The Forum’s Public Relations Officer; Godwin Ibiang, described the act of throwing stowaways into the sea as heinous and a flagrant violation of international law and basic human rights. He called for stiff sanctions against perpetrators and urged maritime stakeholders to respect the legal rights of stowaways, no matter the security concerns they pose.
Ibiang also called for increased government commitment to the enforcement of international conventions that protect human rights at sea. He advocated for training ship crews in human rights compliance and stressed the need for regional and international collaboration to address the root causes of stowaway migration.
Also condemning the trend, maritime legal expert and former Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), Dr. Chris Ebare, denounced the killings as barbaric and unlawful. According to him, no ship operator or crew member has the authority to take the law into their own hands, regardless of provocation. “These are not battlefields, and stowaways are not enemy combatants,” Dr. Ebare said.
He emphasized that under global maritime law—including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—the appropriate action is to report and hand over stowaways to authorities at the next port of call. Any deviation from this, he said, amounts to criminal behavior and could attract prosecution both at the national and international levels.
“Even state officials are bound to follow due process. No private individual or vessel operator has the power to mete out punishment or take a life. Such jungle justice must be universally condemned,” Dr. Ebare insisted.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily, former Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Maritime Affairs, Mr Gbenga Leke Oyewole, called for tighter enforcement of security measures at ports. He noted that most stowaways board ships due to poor checks and security lapses. Oyewole stressed the importance of fully implementing the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and called for improved inspection protocols.
He also lamented the socio-economic conditions pushing Nigerian youths into perilous migrations. According to him, better orientation, education, and job creation are critical to stemming the flow of illegal migration. “The National Orientation Agency must begin serious grassroots campaigns to educate young Nigerians about the dangers of stowaway travel and illegal migration,” he urged.
“People are leaving the country only to end up washing plates abroad or working as night guards. It’s unfortunate. We need to channel our national efforts into improving the economy and giving people real alternatives,” Oyewole said.
