VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Hundreds of Tamil asylum seekers from war-ravaged Sri Lanka spent a grueling three months at sea in a cramped, ramshackle cargo ship but arrived in fairly good condition, Canadian officials said Saturday.
The ship, carrying at least 450 refugees, was modified to maximize profits for a human smuggling operation likely organized by the Tamil Tigers, Canada’s top security official said.
The Thai-flagged MV Sun Sea docked Friday near British Columbia’s capital of Victoria on Vancouver Island, 47 miles east of Vancouver.
Canadian officials said some refugees were nauseated and dehydrated but were mostly in good spirits.
“The people were in fairly good health,” said Canadian Border Services executive director Rob Johnstond. “They were very cooperative. They were communicative. . . . I personally did not see anybody who looked like they had been through a very harrowing experience.”
A total of 450 migrants had been processed since the ship docked Friday, Johnston said. He said conditions aboard the ship were better than officials had feared. He said there were hammocks and eating areas and that the women and children were separated from the men.
He said more than 350 men, 50 women and 50 children were onboard. Johnston said they appeared to have been well-fed and had adequate water.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the vessel was extensively renovated so that it could carry as many people as possible. He called it the work of a sophisticated criminal network — likely the Tamil Tigers — an organization Canada labeled a terrorist group in 2006.
“This isn’t any old sailing boat,” Toews told CTV television.
