GALAXY

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Asylum ship berthed in Amsterdam

The 'Galaxy' has arrived Amsterdam on Sep 26. The ship has been chartered by the Dutch government to accommodate 1,000 asylum seekers and will spend at least six months docked in the Coen Harbour, between the Coen tunnel and the mooring point for river cruisers. The move is mainly aimed at relieving overcrowding at the Ter Apel reception centre in Groningen, where hundreds of asylum seekers have had to sleep on the grass verge outside, and the charity Médicins Sans Frontières has described conditions as inhumane. The ship will also accommodate some refugees who have been granted residency but were still waiting for a permanent home, as well as children, while up to 10% of spaces will be occupied by people who have claimed asylum from so-called safe countries. Education and day care facilities will be provided on board. The number of beds could be increased to 1,500 and the six-month period extended if necessary. In return the government has agreed to finance an extra 2,500 flexible homes in the city. The first residents are expected to move in at the start of October. On Sep 26 asylum seekers began coming on board another cruise ship, the 'Silja Europa', which has been moored in Velsen-Noord, near IJmuiden.

Galaxy will become accomodation ship for asylum seekers

Amsterdam will also receive a cruise ferry for asylum seekers. The reception will be located in the Westelijk Havengebied, next to the second Coentunnel. From Oct 1, 2022, 1.000 asylum seekers will be accomodated aboard the 'Galaxy', making Amsterdam the second municipality to make a quay available for a cruise ferry to accomodate asylum seekers for six months. The ship will soon dock in the Western Docklands, near the Westerhoofd, just next to the Second Coentunnel which is normally used as a berth for cruise ships, superyachts and barges. It is a temporary solution for the short term. The shelter offers a direct contribution to the coping with the reception crisis.

Ferry delayed due to engine trouble

In the night of Sep 12, 2019, the "Galaxy", operating the Turku-Stockholm route, was delayed due to engine problems. Only two out of four engines were running. The ship was delayed in the night and the delays continued during Sep 13. The call at Åland was cancelled. One engine was out of service due to normal service. Another engine stopped due to a technical fault.