Tamil migrant ship not boarded - Canada
August 13, 2010 07:14 am
The Canadian Prime Minister’s Office apologized Thursday night for mistakenly announcing earlier that Canadian officials had boarded a cargo ship believed to be carrying hundreds of Tamil migrants off the B.C. coast.
Government sources confirmed the ship had not been boarded and apologized for the confusion.
The government now says a combination of naval and RCMP officers will likely board the vessel at approximately 10 p.m. ET. Sailors and police officers will then take control of the vessel and steer it to CFB Esquimalt, where it will be docked.
Government sources told CBC News that the ship was first visually identified by military vessels at 2:30 p.m. ET and that the vessel entered Canadian territorial waters at 5:30 p.m. ET.
“Errant information” announcing the vessel had been boarded at 4:30 p.m. ET was passed on by officials in the Canadian Border Services Agency, the sources said.
Earlier Thursday afternoon, Public Safety Minister Toews said personnel from
HMCS Winnipeg boarded the Thai vessel MV Sun Sea after it changed course and
started heading toward
Toews had said, “the
The ship, now off the coast of Vancouver Island and travelling slowly
through fog, is believed to be carrying Tamil migrants from
Toews said there are 490 migrants aboard the ship, and the vessel’s operator has declared them to be refugees — but he said some of the people on the ship are “suspected human smugglers and terrorists.”
Toews said the best way to deal with such people is once they enter Canadian waters.
“Intervening on the high seas brings certain legal obligations and a number of legal problems, and so it’s better to intercept them, I’m advised, inside of Canadian territorial waters.”
Human smuggling ‘despicable crime’
Toews said human smuggling is a despicable crime and such criminals
elsewhere in the world are watching
The “terrorists” Toews referred to are believed to be members of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elan, which have been outlawed in
The migrants will likely be taken to two correctional facilities in Maple
Ridge, east of
A cluster of white tents was set up Thursday morning at CFB Esquimalt in
Canadian officials have released little information about the boat or those
believed to be on board, but staff at