The sea cruise ship Galaxy, on which at least 1,000 asylum seekers and status holders are being housed, arrived Sunday afternoon at Westerhoofd in the Western Port Area, just next to the Second Coen Tunnel. The cruise ship, recently departed from Stockholm, arrived in the Western Port Area through the sea locks at IJmuiden via the North Sea Canal on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 25. The ship has room for 2,800 vacationers and 420 cars, but will now be used for the time being to accommodate 1,000 asylum seekers. Interim evaluations will be made twice to see if scaling up the number of reception places to 1,500 residents is possible and feasible, state secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum, VVD) wrote when announcing the reception form. Westerhoofd is normally used as a berth for cruise ships, super yachts and barges, and is far from the inhabited world. There are only two homes in the wide area, facilities such as supermarkets are not there and no public transportation goes to it. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) will manage the ship rented by the central government and organize day care. They will also arrange care and education and facilitate volunteer work, work programs and programs aimed at participation. Starting in October, the first asylum seekers and status holders will be able to move in. The municipality of Amsterdam has decorated the immediate surroundings of the ship. Trees have been planted and the roads have been made safe for pedestrians and cyclists. The ship is also connected to the water supply and sewage system. An earlier cruise ship already arrived in Velsen last week that will offer shelter to 1,000 asylum seekers for at least six months. https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/cruiseschip-voor-1000-asielzoekers-komt-aan-in-westelijk-havengebied~b247ca9d/