'Security fears' delay rescue
"...people are not allowed to board unless they have appropriate security clearances."  Rescue on the high seas: crew of the HMAS Ararat help the six adults and
10 children from their stricken boat, which was taking on water off the
north-west coast of Western Australia - Photo: Royal Australian Navy Katharine Murphy, Brendan Nicholson and Mark Forbes
November 22, 2007
SIXTEEN Indonesians were left stranded for hours on a leaking wooden boat in the Timor Sea waiting to be rescued because of security concerns. Crew members from the Jabiru Venture said they tried at least three times to convince their ship's owners to bring the group, which included three men, three women, nine children and a breast-feeding baby, on board their stationary oil tanker, but the request was denied. The crew, who are members of the Maritime Union of Australia, said they believed the owners refused to intervene because of concern about immigration laws. "We weren't able to bring them on board. As far as we know that's because of the immigration act," one crew member said yesterday. But the owners of the Jabiru Venture, Perth-based company Coogee Resources, said their decision to leave the Indonesians in the boat on Tuesday had nothing to do with immigration laws. "Absolutely not," a spokeswoman said. She said the 140,000-tonne Jabiru Venture was designated a high-security facility under federal legislation, meaning people are not allowed to board unless they have appropriate security clearances. The spokeswoman said the ship's management had assessed the situation, tied the wooden vessel to the tanker with a grab rope and sent food, water and a pump to deal with leaking water. "The boat was not sinking, the relevant authorities were contacted, the people were informed a navy vessel was on the way," she said. But the crew members, who spoke to The Age on condition of anonymity, painted a scene of chaos and frustration which culminated in Indonesians and navy personnel falling into the sea during a dramatic and dangerous rescue effort. "It was more than a debacle. You could hear the kids crying and we are stuck 40 feet above them and we can't do a thing to help them. We were told (by managers) it was out of their hands," one crew member said. The crew member said the boat was first sighted at 9.30am. "The boat was there for a good number of hours. We said we wanted something done here but management refused. They said the navy was on the way. "We were told we weren't allowed to put the life jackets down there. The boat was alongside us all day, it was obvious they were in distress. We wanted to bring the people on board because it was obvious that the boat was unseaworthy." Once the navy rescue craft arrived it had difficulty handling the wooden boat in rising swell. "It clipped the mooring line, which swamped the boat. Two or three kids ended up in the drink," one crew member said. "Ladies were screaming. We threw all our safety stuff off the side. It was unbelievable, these people having to wait all those hours. The thing that incensed us was it wasn't necessary. "We don't want to attack the navy, but we weren't able to bring them on board. As far as we know, that's because of the immigration act." Crew members are believed to have taken footage and a number of photographs recording the drama. Greens senator Kerry Nettle said a crew member had told her that the company had wanted to help, but feared a repeat of the 2001 Tampa incident. The Indonesians, believed to be from Rote Island, were rescued by the navy and are now on board HMAS Tobruk, which is heading for Christmas Island where the people are expected to be processed. Australian Defence Force spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic conceded the rescue was difficult because the boat was very crowded and unstable. The events occurred 650 kilometres west of Darwin. Two Royal Australian Navy vessels, the landing craft HMAS Tarakan and the patrol boat HMAS Ararat, answered calls for help. "A boat of that size, condition and circumstances is also far more susceptible to sea conditions than a larger boat, posing significant difficulties in trying to safely offload the passengers," Brigadier Nikolic said. HMAS Ararat launched a rigid inflatable boat, but as it began the rescue two of the Australian sailors and six of those on the sinking vessel were thrown into the water. The wooden boat began to sink faster and the rest of those on board jumped into the sea. They were all picked up and no one was injured. It remains unclear whether the people are seeking asylum. It is highly unusual for Indonesians to seek asylum in Australia, with the exception of controversial Papuan cases. The rescue took place more than 1000 kilometres from Papua. Indonesian officials responded cautiously to the situation, saying the nationality of the group had not been confirmed. A spokesman for Indonesia's Foreign Ministry, Kristiarto Legowo, said Indonesia had been formally told the group had "admitted they are Indonesians". A spokesman for Indonesia's Canberra embassy, Dino Kusnadi, said Indonesian officials would probably be sent from Perth or Darwin to interview the people on Christmas Island. He said statements that the 16 were Indonesian were "claims Australia hasn't verified. We are very cautious about this; we would like to see a statement from Immigration". Senior federal bureaucrats associated with the Howard Government's People Smuggling Taskforce met on Tuesday and yesterday and provided briefings to both the Government and the Opposition. In contrast to the political crisis of the children overboard affair in October 2001, federal politicians were low-key in their response to the drama. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson praised the navy's efforts. Labor leader Kevin Rudd said the Opposition supported "an orderly immigration system". "We must always have vigilant laws when it comes to people smuggling," he said. He defended his party's intention to shut down offshore processing in Nauru and said it was right that would-be asylum seekers be processed on Christmas Island. Source - The Age
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