West Dorset MP Chris Loder has deemed the Bibby Stockholm asylum seekers' barge as "unsafe".

The Bibby Stockholm was docked at Portland Port earlier this week and it set to house up to 500 asylum seekers over the coming 18 months.

Mr Loder has said the barge "cannot be deemed safe as no risk assessment can be provided".

In a letter to the Home Secretary and Baroness Vere, the minister responsible for the Marine and Coastguard Agency, the local MP requested that plans to accommodate asylum seekers on the barge be stopped, or that the necessary risk assessments are provided. 

Mr Loder outlined his fundamental concerns relating to overcapacity of the barge, which he said was originally designed for 250 people – not 500.

His request was made following a phone call between Mr Loder and the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA), after which he claimed it was clear that the MCA had not undertaken the relevant risk assessments for accommodation.

Mr Loder has therefore called for "urgent attention" from both the Home Secretary and Baroness Vere.

The United Kingdom has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute. The government is using barges and other accommodation options as an alternative to hotels to house asylum seekers, saying this offers better value for the taxpayer.

Dorset Council has negotiated a funding package from the government of £3,500 per occupied bed space on the Bibby Stockholm, plus a one-off payment of £377,000.

The barge, which arrived in Portland on Tuesday after being towed from Falmouth, is expected to be docked at the port for 18 months and will house up to 500 asylum seekers – adult males aged between 18 to 65 from various countries, all of whom will have been in the UK for some time.

Asylum seekers will have been through a 'suitability screening' process that includes physical and mental health checks and security screenings, such as identity checks against UK immigration and police data bases.