The UK government has decided to accommodate some migrants who cross the border illegally and seek asylum on special barges. The first of these is the Bibby Stockholm.

Migrants are due to be placed on a barge in Dorset as early as Monday 7 August. Why are activists protesting against the Bibby Stockholm, and why is it sometimes referred to as a "floating prison"?

The UK government has decided to crack down on the growing number of migrants crossing the border illegally and seeking asylum by placing them on large barges instead of hotels. As Reuters reports, there are currently about 51,000 such migrants in the UK.

The first barge to house people illegally staying in the UK is the Bibby Stockholm docked in Dorset. The 222 rooms are to accommodate just over 500 people - all of whom are male. They are ultimately expected to stay there for three to six months until their asylum application is processed.

With the barges, the UK wants to relieve overcrowded hotels and save money. The government also believes that floating "apartments", or rather one large container divided into a number of interconnected rooms, could act as a deterrent to future migrants. Below in the video you can see what such barges will look like.

The first migrants were supposed to board the Bibby Stockholm back in July, but the date for the initial placement of people on the barge has been postponed several times. The UK government is now confident the first migrants will start living on the barge as early as Monday 7 August.

The UK minister for safeguarding Sarah Dines, told The Guardian that she could not give specific assurances for security and operational reasons. However, she said Home Office hopes to have 500 asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm by the end of the week and also indicated that the barge is a safe place.

"The barge sends is a forceful message that there will be proper accommodation but not luxurious.

"Luxurious hotel accommodation has been part of the pull, I’m afraid. There have been promises made abroad by the organised criminal gangs and organisations which have tried to get people into the country unlawfully and they say: ‘You will be staying in a very nice hotel in the middle of a town in England.’

"That needs to stop and the barge is just one of a wide range of other measures," said Dines, quoted by the Guardian.

Bibby Stockholm is sometimes referred to by humanitarian organisations as a "floating prison". A glance at the conditions on the barge or reading journalistic descriptions is enough to understand what they mean.

The Guardian reports that the cabins on the Bibby Stockholm are slightly larger than a prison cell. They are equipped with a shower and toilet, a cupboard, mirror, desk and window. There are two small outdoor areas in the middle of the barge for people to play volleyball. You could say it's a kind of a prison yard.

It is not the room conditions, however, that are the most controversial. Placing migrants on the Bibby Stockholm may simply put their lives at risk. The Fire Brigades Union in the UK called the barge a "potential death trap" and expressed its concerns about access to emergency exits and overcrowding. The UK government later assured that it would be addressing these concerns.

Some charities also highlight poor access to healthcare and severe isolation. They consider the detention of people on the barge to be cruel and inhumane. And the organisations supporting LGBTQ+ people point out that people from the rainbow community who seek asylum may be particularly vulnerable to harm and forced to hide their gender identity.

"We believe that containing people who have been through traumatising experiences, especially on a floating vessel, is cruel and inhumane," - reads the Refugee Council's open letter.

Added to all this are recent reports of a possible outbreak. An internal health document says that many migrants may become infected if there is an outbreak of a disease on board. Among the risks, diphtheria, tuberculosis or salmonella are indicated. The memo notes that contingency plans should be in place should such a situation occur.

Source: Reuters, The Guardian, Euro News, TVN24