The suspected Tamil migrant ship was inside Canada's 200-mile exclusive economic zone and heading for the B.C. coast, a senior federal official confirmed Wednesday.
"We expect it will land either late (Thursday) evening or early Friday morning," he said of the 188-foot Thai-flagged vessel called the MV Sun Sea.
The ship is thought to be engaged in "human smuggling and human trafficking, which is obviously a very dangerous thing," the federal official said, adding Canada has unconfirmed reports that one of the passengers has died.
The vessel was met by a Canadian navy ship from B.C.'s Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt when it reached Canadian territorial waters. It is unclear when exactly that happened.
The government fears other migrant ships may be on the way. It appears "we are becoming a target of human smugglers and human traffickers," the federal official said.
"We are looking to send a message to these people who are usually (part of) criminal organizations, in some cases with possible terrorist connections in the case of the Tamil Tigers . . . that we are not going to allow our laws to be broken."
He declined to provide details of what the federal government plans as the ship closes in on the Canadian shoreline.
U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark McCadden said that U.S. authorities were aware of reports of an 188-foot cargo ship bearing that name.
"The reports have it that the vessel is heading toward Canada, so this is a Canadian operation," McCadden said. "And as always, the coast guard stands ready to support the Canadians if requested."
McCadden said Wednesday that no requests for U.S. assistance in the matter had yet been made.
"We haven't made contact with the vessel but we are certainly aware of it," McCadden said. "And given the fact of what its alleged destination is, Canada is pursuing this one."
Staff members at the Victoria General Hospital were busy on Wednesday preparing to treat the migrants.
Some of the 500 migrants, including women and children, may have serious health problems after the three-month voyage, health officials said.
Staff safety will be a top priority when treating the illegal migrants, Norma Jones, emergency management corporate director with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said in an e-mail to staff.
"This will include all required personal protective equipment as well as armed security services provided by corrections and/or border services officials," she said.
The coast guard has been tracking the ship's progress up the West Coast since July.
The ship will likely be boarded by the Canadian Border Services Agency, and then directed to Victoria harbour. When the cargo ship makes landfall, it's expected the passengers will be processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials before being taken to two Vancouver-area jails to be housed.
The ship is the second in less than a year to arrive with Tamil refugees aboard. Last October, a smaller cargo ship, the Ocean Lady, was intercepted by HMCS Regina and taken to Victoria, where 76 Tamils disembarked.
Many speculated that some of the men aboard the Ocean Lady were members of the Tamil Tigers, the paramilitary arm of the Tamil independence movement. They were believed to have been fleeing Sri Lanka following the end of the island country's 25-year civil war between the Tigers, who claimed to represent the ethnic minority Tamils, and the Sri Lankan government.
So far, none of the 76 refugees have been linked to the Tamil Tigers, whose members are banned from entering Canada because it is considered a terrorist organization.
The migrants have since been released, pending the refugee claim process, and most are living in Toronto.
— Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times Colonist and Postmedia News
After a long ocean journey, a ship believed to be carrying as many as 500 Tamil refugees is expected to reach the coast of British Columbia as early as Thursday evening.
The suspected Tamil migrant ship was inside Canada's 200-mile exclusive economic zone and heading for the B.C. coast, a senior federal official confirmed Wednesday.
"We expect it will land either late (Thursday) evening or early Friday morning," he said of the 188-foot Thai-flagged vessel called the MV Sun Sea.
The ship is thought to be engaged in "human smuggling and human trafficking, which is obviously a very dangerous thing," the federal official said, adding Canada has unconfirmed reports that one of the passengers has died.
The vessel was met by a Canadian navy ship from B.C.'s Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt when it reached Canadian territorial waters. It is unclear when exactly that happened.
The government fears other migrant ships may be on the way. It appears "we are becoming a target of human smugglers and human traffickers," the federal official said.
"We are looking to send a message to these people who are usually (part of) criminal organizations, in some cases with possible terrorist connections in the case of the Tamil Tigers . . . that we are not going to allow our laws to be broken."
He declined to provide details of what the federal government plans as the ship closes in on the Canadian shoreline.
U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark McCadden said that U.S. authorities were aware of reports of an 188-foot cargo ship bearing that name.
"The reports have it that the vessel is heading toward Canada, so this is a Canadian operation," McCadden said. "And as always, the coast guard stands ready to support the Canadians if requested."
McCadden said Wednesday that no requests for U.S. assistance in the matter had yet been made.
"We haven't made contact with the vessel but we are certainly aware of it," McCadden said. "And given the fact of what its alleged destination is, Canada is pursuing this one."
Staff members at the Victoria General Hospital were busy on Wednesday preparing to treat the migrants.
Some of the 500 migrants, including women and children, may have serious health problems after the three-month voyage, health officials said.
Staff safety will be a top priority when treating the illegal migrants, Norma Jones, emergency management corporate director with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said in an e-mail to staff.
"This will include all required personal protective equipment as well as armed security services provided by corrections and/or border services officials," she said.
The coast guard has been tracking the ship's progress up the West Coast since July.
The ship will likely be boarded by the Canadian Border Services Agency, and then directed to Victoria harbour. When the cargo ship makes landfall, it's expected the passengers will be processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials before being taken to two Vancouver-area jails to be housed.
The ship is the second in less than a year to arrive with Tamil refugees aboard. Last October, a smaller cargo ship, the Ocean Lady, was intercepted by HMCS Regina and taken to Victoria, where 76 Tamils disembarked.
Many speculated that some of the men aboard the Ocean Lady were members of the Tamil Tigers, the paramilitary arm of the Tamil independence movement. They were believed to have been fleeing Sri Lanka following the end of the island country's 25-year civil war between the Tigers, who claimed to represent the ethnic minority Tamils, and the Sri Lankan government.
So far, none of the 76 refugees have been linked to the Tamil Tigers, whose members are banned from entering Canada because it is considered a terrorist organization.
The migrants have since been released, pending the refugee claim process, and most are living in Toronto.
— Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times Colonist and Postmedia News
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