The men told the news agency Reuters that they had to ration their meagre food and water for ten days until they were able to survive for four days by drinking seawater.
They boarded the ferry expecting to reach Europe, but instead they arrived in Brazil, which left them, to put it mildly, startled.
The guys fastened themselves to the rudder with a rope and constructed a net around it to keep from falling off while the ship sailed over the Atlantic.
One of the men, 35-year-old Roman Ebimene Friday, claimed that he frequently glanced below to spot “big fish like whales and sharks.”
Sleep was also not an option. One wrong move could be fatal, and it was hard to sleep anyhow with the sound of the engine running.
The men’s first concern was to hide from the crew because they feared that if they were discovered, they would be cast into the water.
Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, 38, continued, “It was a terrible experience for me.”
It is difficult to be on board. I was trembling from fear. However, I’m here.
Liberian-flagged ship On June 27, Ken Wave left Lagos. A fisherman rowed Friday from Bayelsa to the boat, where he discovered three individuals sitting close above the propeller.
The ship was finally located off the coast of the state of Esprito Santo in the southeast, and the sailors were saved.
The guys were all in “precarious health conditions,” according to the force, and were saved by federal police officers at the port of Vitoria.
Each had a different reason for leaving Nigeria, one of the most populous countries in Africa but also one of the most violent and impoverished. The nation has experienced a spike in kidnappings in recent years, and according to one survey, security is one of the top worries among the populace.
Yeye, a Pentecostal priest, claimed that his farm producing peanuts and palm oil was destroyed by heavy flooding, displacing his family.
He expressed optimism that one day they will be able to accompany him to Brazil.
While the other two guys asked to be sent back to Nigeria, Yeye and Friday both requested asylum in Brazil.
They are not the only men. According to the UN department for human rights, 123,300 refugees and migrants travelled across the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2021.
Deaths are on the rise as people brave choppy waves and bad weather, despite the fact that the number has been down for years.
3,231 individuals at least perished or perished at sea in the Mediterranean and northwest African routes last year.
The agency said that it had “constantly warned of the horrific experiences and dangers faced by refugees and migrants who resort to these journeys.”
“Many of them are people running from conflict, violence, and persecution,” it is said.