War against Ukraine: Leith cruise ship ‘on track’ for closure, leaving Ukrainians in ‘constant limbo’

Some families have been living on the ship for many months

The "majority" of Ukrainian refugees living on a cruise ship in Leith have found alternative accommodation a month ahead of the vessel's closure, officials have said – although many are likely to be transferred to other temporary accommodation such as hotels.

The Scottish Government said it was "on track" to disembark the MS Victoria ship on July 11, with refugees, some of whom have been living on the ship for many months, moving to other homes, including social housing, private rented sector properties, hosted accommodation or hotels.

However, the Government refused to give details on how many people were likely to be offered only temporary housing.

People have been living on the MS Victoria cruise ship in Leith since last summer. Picture: Getty Images

Politicians have warned some refugees are being forced to live in “constant limbo”.

The latest official figures from the government show that as of May 9, there were around 975 people living on the MS Victoria, occupying 625 ship cabins. The latest statistics, for June, will be published early next week.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “There are very marginal month-on-month decreases in the number of people moved out of temporary accommodation and settled into longer-term options.

“This glacial pace isn’t sustainable. People cannot be made to live in constant limbo, worried about where and when the next roof may be."

He added: “To help Ukrainians fully resettle, we need the Government to extend free bus passes, boost support for local authorities in vetting hosts, provide comprehensive language support and identify the skills of those arriving as early as possible to match people with job opportunities.”

Refugees have previously told how they are worried they could be moved to other parts of Scotland, having put down roots in Edinburgh. Many of the families on the boat include children, who have settled into local schools, while adults have found jobs.

Even those who have paid work are struggling to obtain private rented accommodation due to a shortage of rented properties in the city.

The ship is to close exactly a year after it was chartered to cope with an influx of refugees fleeing war in Ukraine. Announcing the opening of the ship, the Government at the time also said it would “pause” its super sponsor scheme, which allowed Ukrainians to travel to Scotland with the Government as the named sponsor on their visa application through the UK-wide Homes for Ukraine visa route.

The Ukrainians were then looked after by local councils until a permanent home could be found – rather than having to match with sponsors they have found on social media in advance. However, the scheme has not since been restarted, after the Government admitted it was struggling to keep up with demand.

As of May 16, figures showed a total number of 24,532 displaced people from Ukraine had arrived in the UK on a visa with a Scottish sponsor – either an individual host or the government.

Scottish Labour social justice spokesman Paul O’Kane said: "This is a symptom of the spiralling housing crisis facing Scotland and will end up costing more in the long term. Refugees deserve to spend their time in Scotland in a stable environment, not being pushed from hotel to hotel by the Scottish Government."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There are matching teams on board the MS Victoria supporting guests to move on to suitable alternative accommodation before the contract ends on July 11. The teams work closely with guests to encourage them to consider a range of housing options, including social housing, private rented sector properties, hosted accommodation or alternative welcome accommodation including hotels.

“We remain on course to safely disembark the ship ahead of the end of the contract, with the majority of guests that were resident now having departed or with plans to disembark in the coming weeks.”