Ship arrives in Canadian waters with 490 Tamil migrants on board

After a three-month ocean crossing, a small Thai cargo ship carrying 490 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived this morning in Esquimalt Harbour, near Victoria, British Columbia, amid tight security.

The MV Sun Sea set out from Thailand in May. Federal authorities had been tracking it due to reports that the vessel was bound for Canada carrying Sri Lankan asylum seekers potentially mixed with human smugglers and members of a Tamil group that Ottawa has banned.

After the ship entered Canadian territorial waters on Thursday evening, Canadian Border Service Agency officers, RCMP and Canadian Forces personnel boarded the ship, apparently without incident. There was no sign of resistance by the MV Sun Sea to directions ordered by the navy. The condition of the passengers is not known, but many may have serious health problems after their three-month voyage, health officials said.

The federal government has pledged it will take swift action in dealing with the ship. Those on the ship will be processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials and, if healthy, men will be taken to Fraser Regional Correctional Centre and the women will be taken to the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women east of Vancouver.

All migrants will be under guard.

This cargo ship is the second one to make its way to Canada following the end of a lengthy civil war in Sri Lanka. The first ship was the Ocean Lady, which brought 76 Tamils to Canada last October.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said that some of the passengers onboard may be human smugglers and members of the Tamil Tigers, which Ottawa considers a terrorist group. Towes said that the Canadian government is working to strengthen laws and curb "this unacceptable abuse of international law and Canadian generosity” because “it is imperative that we prevent supporters and members of a criminal or terrorist organization from abusing Canada's refugee system."

Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada's international obligations, everyone onboard the ship who is deemed an eligible asylum seeker is entitled to a refugee hearing.