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Mere days after the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) was alerted to the presence of a pirogue with decomposing bodies floating near a natural gas platform off Trinidad's east coast, a vessel with 13 dead bodies was found in St Kitts and Nevis.

The boat was discovered in Trinidad on January 25; the other skiff became visible in St. Kitts waters on January 30. Thus far, officials have not disclosed whether the two incidents might be related, though St. Kitts’ Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cromwell Henry, said that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, making it difficult to assess the ages or genders of the deceased.

Subsequent investigations, however, began to reveal some information:

A boat with decomposing bodies was discovered off Trinidad’s southeast coast. Local police concluded the vessel to be from Mauritania , a tragedy consequence of the securitisation of migration. #Trinidad #migration pic.twitter.com/gjofsKQxto

— Ali Zoubeidi (@DrAZoubeidi) January 26, 2025

In the case of Trinidad, the coast guard patrol had located the vessel and – despite its poor condition and the rough seas – managed to attach a towline by the morning of January 26. En route back to the mainland, however, at approximately 4:00 a.m. local time (UTC-4), the line detached, and the vessel could not be retrieved despite search efforts.

The TTCG noted that the boat bore a “striking resemblance” to a vessel found off the coast of Tobago in May 2021, leading them to assume that “the circumstances surrounding this case may be of a similar nature.” That boat contained the bodies of West African migrants who had been trying to get to the Canary Islands, which are often used as a stepping stone to Europe.

Even as the TTCG's competence, as well as gaps in Trinidad and Tobago's maritime emergency response infrastructure were being called into question, news reports were quick to remind people that situations like these are not new to the Caribbean region.

In August 2024, forensic experts in the Dominican Republic found themselves trying to identify the remains of at least 14 decomposed bodies found on an abandoned vessel off its north coast. In March 2021, Nicaraguan authorities found the bodies of six people, assumed to be migrants, in a small boat off its Caribbean coast, and as far back as 2006, Barbados encountered a similar vessel, this time with the bodies of 11 West African men trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. Similar incidents have happened with migrants fleeing the ongoing socioeconomic situation in Venezuela.

By January 29, a body — believed to be one of the corpses from the ghost pirogue — washed ashore in Manzanilla, along Trinidad's east coast.

From Libya to Italy, Tunisia to France, and the Canary Islands to mainland Europe, countless migrants continue to lose their lives attempting to cross into Europe through treacherous and often deadly routes.

As noted by The Conversation, the responsibility for these migrant deaths lies with policies created by European states, which remain determined to curb migration, even at the cost of overlooking human rights violations against migrants. Last year, while the European Union (EU) signed a controversial migration deal with Tunisia, the United Kingdom inked a controversial agreement to relocate certain asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda; the scheme was later cancelled after the UK’s Supreme Court deemed it unlawful on the grounds that Rwanda was not a safe country for asylum seekers.

African migration has been a longstanding phenomenon driven by various factors, including the search for better economic opportunities, political instability, conflict, and environmental challenges. A recent report by The Conversation predicted that this trend could well continue, as the conditions inflicted by the climate crisis could potentially force up to 113 million people within Africa to relocate by the year 2050.

Yet, migration patterns at the EU’s borders appear to be shifting. According to a recent report by Frontex report, irregular border crossings into the EU dropped by 40 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. However, crossings along the Western African route surged to their highest level since records began in 2009.

Despite restrictive policies, mobility remains closely linked to economic prosperity and development. With Europe’s ageing population, migrants and refugees present a significant opportunity to help spur growth. However, as Europe continues to tighten its migration policies, causing migrants to resort to taking risks along illegal and deadly routes, it remains to be seen whether Europe is hindering rather than fostering its own economic development.