The hotel boat for refugees in the port of Huizen does not go to Velsen, but to Zaandam. This is confirmed by the spokesperson for the COA. There are 144 refugees on board, not from Ukraine but from countries such as Syria, Turkey and Eritrea.
NH Nieuws previously announced that the hotel boat would move from Huizen to the municipality of Velsen, in the IJmond region. This was confirmed by both the alderman of Huizen and the COA location manager on the hotel boat. In the end it was decided to move the boat to Zaandam. This is the second boat that will be moored in Zaandam, the fact that a second boat was coming has already been announced earlier.
When asked how it is possible that both the location manager and the alderman of Huizen say that the boat is now going to Zaandam, instead of Velsen, the spokesperson says that it is a ‘miscommunication’. “We have to consider as many different locations as possible. It could be that they were wrong about the location.”
144 refugees
There are now 144 refugees on board the hotel boat, from countries such as Syria, Turkey and Eritrea. Ukrainian refugees are not included. On December 24 last year, the boat moored in the harbor of Huizen. The boat was scheduled to depart on April 1.