WORLD NATIONAL SPORTS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT
Suspicious ship may have migrants
GREG JOYCE
VANCOUVER (CP) - Another ship believed to be
sailing from Asia with illegal immigrants on board was expected to
enter Canadian waters Tuesday.
Immigration officials said they planned to hail
the ship to warn the captain about illegally entering Canadian
jurisdiction. Plans were also in place to possibly escort the ship
to shore. George Varnai, a spokesman with Citizenship and
Immigration, provided few details about the department's plans.
"We have had no contact with the vessel yet," he
said. "We saw people on board this afternoon," said Varnai, who
could not say for certain the passengers' ethnic origin.
Last month, an unmarked, decrepit vessel arrived on the east
coast of Vancouver Island carrying 123 Chinese migrants stuffed into
a stinking, fetid hold.
Officials believe the people were being smuggled into Canada.
Once in Canada, they were taken to the naval base at Esquimalt,
near Victoria, where they claimed refugee status.
Thirty-six of the migrants arrived in Vancouver on Monday to live
while they await refugee hearings.
Most of the others are staying in Victoria and 37 have been taken
into detention and are suspected of being part of the smuggling
operation.
Varnai said the latest ship had appeared to be circling since it
was spotted Monday afternoon.
But at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the vessel changed direction and
began sailing towards Canada, Varnai said.
Immigration and Citizenship officials and the RCMP departed for
Sandspit, B.C., a small community on the Queen Charlotte Islands, in
anticipation of the boat reaching land at a destination that is
still unclear.
The ship was expected to arrive somewhere on a Canadian shore
between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Varnai said the ship would be hailed by authorities, likely with
a megaphone from another vessel and given a warning.
The options open to authorities include possible arrest of the
ship's captain.
If the people on board are illegal migrants seeking admission to
Canada, Varnai said they would likely be taken into custody and
"examined for immigration purposes and possible criminal charges."
"The last time, the ship was in Canadian waters," said Varnai.
"This one is not yet."
Lt.-Cmdr. Chris Henderson of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt said
the latest ship was spotted as a result of a Defence Department
decision to alter the course of its routine surveillance following
the arrival of the first ship.
The latest ship appears in pretty good condition, better than the
previous ship, said Varnai.
The ship has no markings or fishing gear.
The surveillance pattern was changed not because authorities had
specific information of another vessel en route to Canada, said
Henderson.
"We changed the surveillance pattern after the first ship to
improve the likelihood of finding other vessels before they arrived
in Canada."
Varnai rejected suggestions that Canada seemed to be an easy
target for possible illegal human smuggling.
He said that was "a bit of an exaggeration" and that the U.S. has
had similar occurrences in the last few years, as well as Australia
and other countries.
"Smuggling will not end in the short term," said Varnai. "It's a
significant business."
Earlier, Lt.-Cmdr. Gerry Pash said on any given day there are
about 600 ships off the B.C. coast in the area the navy patrols.
"We maintain a pretty complete picture of what's going on out
there 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said.
© The Canadian Press, 1999
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