Work has started at the Arinaga patera and cayuco dump in Gran Canaria, to destroy and dispose of the wooden boats that thousands of migrants have used to cross the Atlantic from West Africa to Arguineguin.
There are approximately 130 boats on the site next to the port of Arinaga in Agüimes that are being disposed of, at a cost of 56,000 euros. The contract was awarded to a company called Martínez Cano Canarias by the Government and will take around two weeks to complete.
First of all, any waste associated with the boats, such as ropes, cables, clothes, or plastics are removed so they can be separated and treated, and then the boats, which are made of wood, are shredded.
Most of these vessels were transported to this location from the port of Arguineguín in Mogán, which is the usual arrival point for these boats when rescued by Maritime Rescue.
This action comes just weeks after it became known that the Department for the Protection of the Natural Environment, under the Government of the Canary Islands, had initiated proceedings against the Las Palmas Port Authority for this accumulation of boats, with potential fines reaching up to 300,000 euros.
