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Migrants moved to housing barge moored in southern U.K. as government seeks to cut asylum seeker costs

A view of the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, which will house up to 500 asylum seekers, at Portland Port in Dorset, England, Friday, July 21, 2023. The barge Bibby Stockholm pulled into Portland harbour on Tuesday after the government's legislation finally overcame resistance in the House of Lords. The vessel and the bill are part of the Conservative Party's plan to deter migrants from making risky English Channel crossings. The bill is aimed at preventing people arriving illegally from claiming asylum in the U.K. (Andrew Matthews/Pool Photo via AP) A view of the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, which will house up to 500 asylum seekers, at Portland Port in Dorset, England, Friday, July 21, 2023. The barge Bibby Stockholm pulled into Portland harbour on Tuesday after the government's legislation finally overcame resistance in the House of Lords. The vessel and the bill are part of the Conservative Party's plan to deter migrants from making risky English Channel crossings. The bill is aimed at preventing people arriving illegally from claiming asylum in the U.K. (Andrew Matthews/Pool Photo via AP)
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LONDON -

A small group of asylum-seekers has been moved onto a barge moored in southern England as the U.K. government tries to cut the cost of sheltering people seeking protection in the country, British news media reported Monday.

The asylum-seekers were transferred to the Bibby Stockholm, a floating hostel that will ultimately house up to 500 men, from other sites around the country. More were expected to arrive later Monday as authorities seek to reduce the number of asylum-seekers housed in expensive hotel rooms that were requisitioned on an emergency basis as the number of arrivals has surged in recent years.

The barge, which is owned by UK-based Bibby Marine, is normally used to provide temporary housing for workers when local accommodation isn't available. With three stories of closely packed bedrooms, the barge resembles a college dormitory, though the rooms are utilitarian. It also includes a kitchen, dining area, common rooms and laundry facilities.

The Bibby Stockholm is moored in Portland Port on the south coast of England, where some locals have opposed the plan because of concern about the impact on the small surrounding community, which already has a shortage of medical services and is connected to the mainland by a single road. Immigrants rights groups are also opposed, saying it is inappropriate to house asylum-seekers in such accommodation.

The U.K. government wants to use barges and former military bases to accommodate some migrants after the cost of housing them in hotels soared to 1.9 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) last year.

Home Office Minister Sarah Dines told the BBC that people arriving in the U.K. via unauthorized means should have "basic but proper accommodation" and that they "can't expect to stay in a four-star hotel."

Follow AP's coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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