Saturday, Sep 11

ROD MICKLEBURGH
British Columbia Bureau
Saturday, September 11, 1999

Vancouver -- The Canadian navy may have nabbed the crew of the latest ship loaded with Chinese migrants by surprise as the vessel headed toward an unknown rocky shore to dump its human cargo.

"They tried to outrun us," said Lieutenant-Commander Chris Henderson as he recounted a high-seas drama off the west coast of Vancouver Island that led to the seizure of yet another vessel crammed with illegal migrants from China's Fujian province.

The officer said the sudden, futile spurt toward shore took place just after the vessel was hailed by his ship, the naval destroyer HMCS Huron, a good indication that the crew was caught unawares. It was the fourth such capture in less than two months, increasing the total number of Chinese boatpeople offloaded this summer to more than 600.

The latest group of migrants, estimated at between 150 and 170 mostly adult males and a few women and juveniles, arrived last night at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, near Victoria.

They are expected to remain in custody there, joining about 120 migrants held from previously seized boats.

They had been taken aboard the Huron, which intercepted their ship in Nootka Sound on Thursday evening, about 18 nautical miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

LCdr. Henderson said the ship carrying the illegals, a 75-metre coastal steamer, was first discovered heading toward Canadian waters by a long-range surveillance aircraft on Tuesday afternoon.
At that time, the ship was still about 850 kilometres offshore. The HMCS Huron was dispatched to the area, along with several RCMP vessels.

The Chinese ship, which bore no markings or flag, was kept under continuous surveillance until it was hailed over ships' radio by the Huron.

"It did not respond [verbally]. In fact, the ship accelerated and continued toward shore," LCdr. Henderson said.

Three Sea King helicopters and the naval destroyer then began converging on the fleeing vessel. That did the trick.

"With a very large and sleek warship bearing down, and with a number of helicopters and patrol aircraft very noticeable, the master of that vessel evidently thought better about running away," LCdr. Henderson said.

The ship signalled its surrender by hoisting a white T-shirt.

"Its speed decelerated. It then went dead in the water," he said.

The migrant ship was quickly boarded by emergency response teams from the RCMP and Immigration. Migrants on board were transferred to the Huron and the coastal vessel was towed by tug down to Esquimalt, where it joined the three leaky vessels seized during the summer.

One other ship, known as "the ghost ship," sank earlier after unloading its human cargo undetected.

LCdr. Henderson said the navy tried to give as little advance notice as possible to the latest Chinese ship in order not to tip off those organizing the venture "so they couldn't frustrate our efforts to stop them.

"In this case, we might have taken them by surprise. It does appear they wanted to outrun us."

At the same time, almost half of the 76 refugee claimants from the first boat to show up on July 20 have now gone missing, Canadian immigration officials confirmed yesterday.

Rob Johnston, manager of immigration enforcement in Vancouver, said Canada-wide warrants were issued for 32 migrants this week, adding to the five warrants issued previously for claimants who did not make a required appearance before an immigration review board.

Many members of the Chinese community believe the missing are in the hands of so-called snakeheads, who try to spirit them to Toronto or New York to work off the large debts the migrants owe them for organizing their perilous passage across the Pacific.

Since migrants on the first boat began disappearing after being released, all subsequent arrivals have been kept under lock and key.

"We are now taking much stronger action," Mr. Johnston said. "This is the largest smuggling operation of this kind ever uncovered on the West Coast."

So far, most of the illegal migrants have claimed refugee status, entitling them to a formal hearing on the legitimacy of their claims.

Immigration officials said they are expediting procedures to handle the unprecedented influx as quickly as possible.

Police, meanwhile, are intensifying their investigation into the attempted smuggling of Chinese migrants into Canada, which they describe as a lucrative, high-stakes, international operation run by organized crime.

One of their difficulties is the reluctance of migrants to shed light on the circumstances of their own voyages, said RCMP Constable Tracey Rook.

"It is a very time-consuming process, and a very complex investigation. This is a global trend, not just Canada," she said.

Constable Rook said police are investigating whether the four ships seized so far are linked in any way. She did not deny that RCMP investigators may be on the ground in Fujian province, trying to identify snakeheads responsible for organizing the human-smuggling ventures.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy said yesterday he was satisfied with a discussion on the matter with his Chinese counterpart, foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan.

He said Mr. Tang had endorsed a joint agreement between the two countries on combatting crime that will ease the access of Canadian law-enforcement officials to colleagues in Fujian province.

Immigration officials here strongly rejected suggestions that Canada is "being made fools of" by the succession of migrant boatloads.

"The purpose of these smuggling vessels is to do it surreptitiously and undetected," said George Varnai, manager of programs for citizenship and immigration in Vancouver.

"The very fact that we have seized four vessels and generally control the situation shows they are not making fools of us at all. We have got these people under control."

None of those who spoke at the joint press conference discounted the possibility that more boatloads might be on their way, though Mr. Varnai said none is currently being tracked.

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