The boats try to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, an archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa that has been used as a steppingstone to continental Europe.

Source: https://www.denver7.com/more-than-60-senegalese-migrants-feared-dead-on-voyage-to-spain

The boats were due to be delivered in 2018, but have been delayed by some five years – and are due to begin to come onto the network later this year.

Source: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/5467564/sorry-says-calmac-boss-but-another-two-years-until-pressure-on-the-ferry-network-will-ease/

The boats, which are believed to have been manufactured in China, are suspected to have been purchased online and sent to Germany from Turkey.

Source: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/08/06/suspected-trafficking-kingpin-disappears-after-being-freed-in-germany-over-eu-human-rights-loophole/