First patera of the year intercepted 40 miles from Lanzarote

A boat containing 37 migrants was intercepted in waters 40 miles from Lanzarote on Monday morning. A Salvamento Maritimo vessel escorted the patera to Puerto Naos, where 33 men and four women were received.

It is the first boat to arrive on Lanzarote this year, with no pateras arriving at all in the first three months of 2026. Compared to the 1,359 migrants who arrived in the first quarter of 2025, this shows a drastic decrease in journeys on the dangerous Canarian route.

Enrique Esopinosa, head of Lanzarote’s Emergency Consortium, commented “The decrease on the Canarian route is evident. It seems they are now looking for other ways to reach Europe.”

Figures from Spain’s Interior Ministry bear this out – while irregular immigration by sea to Spain has fallen by a massive 65% overall this year, this decrease is entirely due to an 80% decrease in the Canarian figures. Arrivals to the Balearics and mainland Spain have experienced a 43% increase, and there has been a significant rise in migrants “jumping the fence” in the Spanish city of Ceuta.