In the words of one inmate, they were “schools of abominable pollution” and “nurseries of deep crime”, where “those who have been discharged from them have overrun England and spread vice and immorality everywhere in their track”.
Not conditions on board the migrant barge Bibby Stockholm, as some human rights activists might have us believe, but the words of Jørgen Jørgensen, a Danish adventurer unfortunate enough to be locked on a British prison hulk in the early 19th Century.
But while guests on the Bibby Stockholm have en suite bathrooms, free internet and three meals a day, many see a direct connection to the country’s past, when thousands were locked up in appalling conditions on decommissioned men of war known as “hulks”.
For Amnesty International, the migrant barge was like the "prison hulks from the Victorian era” and an "utterly shameful way to house people who've fled terror, conflict and persecution”.
The Guardian newspaper reported: “Prison ships have forever been associated with the worst excesses of English injustice.”
Columnist Tim Adams even quoted Napoleon on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, reminding his troops “Soldiers, let those among you who have been prisoners of the English describe to you the hulks, and detail the most frightful miseries which they endured!”
Cost effective
The UK government sees it differently. For Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the barge - built originally to accommodate offshore gas workers - is a humane and cost-effective way to house hundreds of young men who have illegally crossed the English Channel on small boats while their applications for asylum are processed.
But memories of the hulks - used to incarcerate prisoners of war and convicts awaiting transportation to Britain’s colonies - still linger, making such comparisons inevitable in the heated debate around illegal migration.
Their use is embedded in literature, like the convict Magwitch who escapes from one in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, or Jean Valjean, the hero of Victor Hugo’s, Les Misérables, imprisoned on the notorious Bagne of Toulon, former galley ships used by the French as hulks.
Using ships as prisons was first proposed by the British government at the end of the 18th Century, prompted by a shortage of jails on land. The War of Independence had made it impossible to transport convicts to the American colonies, and British prisons were overflowing.
The solution was “hulks”, former Royal Navy warships, stripped of their masts and weapons and moored on river banks. The first prison hulk opened for business in 1776 with the Justicia moored on the banks of Thames, and her inmates doing hard labour onshore during the day.
Between 40 and 50 of these hulks would be used as prisons during the 19th Century, including old warhorses like HMS Bellerophon, a 74-gun ship of the line that had fought at Trafalgar and the Battle of the Nile.
Masts removed, their decks could accommodate hundreds of prisoners, with the gun ports nearest the shore boarded up to deter escapes.
Phased out
During the American War of Independence, captured American soldiers were held on prison ships off the coast of New York. Conditions for those regarded as traitors to the crown were appalling, with around 10,000 dying in captivity - a worse casualty rate than in battle.
Poor food and hygiene combined with overcrowding were a general feature of the hulks on both sides of the Atlantic. They did little to deter crime, with an inmate called Williamson, sentenced to death in 1791, telling the press before his execution they were “A college of villainy – from whence every man comes out a master of arts; having taken every possible degree of scoundrelism”.
They had largely been phased out by the 1890s. One of the last was the Success, built in Calcutta in 1840 as a merchant ship, then converted to hold prisoners in Australia in the 1850s.
A contemporary description of life on-board reported “Leg-irons, spiked iron collars, straight iron jackets, body irons, with handcuffs attached, were also used on some of the prisoners doing their sentences on board the Success.
“The spiked iron collar was a shocking means of punishment, and was so constructed that the wearer was obliged to remain always in a stooping attitude, which induced ill-health in many, and was the cause of death to not a few.”
The ship was eventually bought by a group of entrepreneurs, hoping to cash in on her history as a floating museum. In 1907, the Success arrived on the River Liffey in Ireland, where the Weekly Irish Times called her ‘Britain’s Last Convict Ship’ and an “Ocean Hell.”
Still afloat in 1936, the women’s magazine Britannia and Eve called the ship “A floating chamber of horrors. But the 20th century would have many worse examples of floating prisons.
Among the worst were the “death barges” used by both sides in the Russian Civil War of 1918-19. Originally cargo barges they were moored on the River Volga, packed with prisoners in appalling conditions.
A doctor visiting a barge held by the “Whites”, as the opponents of the Red Army revolutionaries were known, found “festering wounds of those who were still alive and the noses and ears of the dead were crawling with maggots. An unbearable stench overwhelmed everyone who approached the hatch.”
There were also reports of at least one mass execution in March 1919, when as many as 4,000 prisoners of the Revolutionary Military Committee were thrown into the Volga, weighed down with stones.
Not to be outdone, the Nazis used ocean liners in Lubeck on the Baltic Sea to hold concentration camp inmates late in the Second World War. Attacked by the Royal Air Force, which mistakenly believed them military targets, three ships were sunk in May 1945, with the loss of up to 7,000 lives.
The British were not done with prison ships, though. During the Irish War of Independence, they deployed HMS Argenta, originally a cargo ship from Texas, to hold Republican prisoners of war.
During Northern Ireland’s Troubles, nearly 50 years later, the submarine support ship HMS Maidstone became a floating “internment holding area” in 1969, holding Irish Republicans without trial.
In the 1980s, two accommodation barges built in Sweden for the oil and gas industry were purchased by the New York City Department of Correction to reduce overcrowding in its prisons.
Both barges were later sold, with one becoming Her Majesty’s Prison Weare in 1997, moored at Portland Harbour on England’s south coast. Intended to relieve overcrowding, HMP Weare was eventually closed in 2005 as it was too expensive to maintain.
Temporary solution
Most modern prison ships used as a temporary solution for overcrowding, moored for as long as needed. The exception is the Vernon C Bain Correctional Centre, acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest floating prison.
Opened in 1992, the massive structure, resting on a barge, has become a permanent fixture on New York City’s East River, close to the notorious Rikers Island jail. It can house up to 800 inmates, with facilities including a basketball ball court and a library.
Meanwhile, back in England, the first migrants have spent their first nights on the Bibby Stockholm. After a breakfast of cereals, eggs, cheese, jam and butter, some seemed happy, although one told the BBC it was like “entering Alcatraz” - the notorious island prison in San Fransisco Bay.
Others are taking legal action to avoid being sent to floating accommodation. Some, despite crossing to Britain by boat, are citing a fear of water.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Company%20Profile
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The five pillars of Islam
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
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SPEC%20SHEET
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Racecard
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Company%20profile
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Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
