Canadian police seize ship off coast

By JEREMY HAINSWORTH, The Associated Press
7:07 p.m. October 17, 2009

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A ship carrying 76 migrant workers has been seized off Canada's Pacific coast, officials said Saturday.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Duncan Pound said those on board said they had hoped to reach Canada.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said there were preliminary indications the ship originated in Sri Lanka, though he stressed that information had not been confirmed.

The ship, sailing under the name "Ocean Lady," was intercepted by Canadian authorities late Friday afternoon. It was escorted by a navy frigate and two RCMP vessels to Victoria Vancouver Island, where it docked Saturday evening.

Government agencies are conducting health and immigration inspections.
Pictures released by the RCMP of the ship appear to show people waving to a helicopter overhead. The individuals pictured are wearing civilian clothes. Some are shirtless.

Ten years ago, four ships – some of them rusting and barely seaworthy – were seized along the northern coasts of Vancouver Island and their occupants detained.

More than 400 people, including women and children, were on the boats, all of them from Fujian province in China.

Some migrants, suspected to be human smugglers in charge of the operation, were sent to Vancouver and Victoria jails. The migrants paid thousands of dollars to the smugglers for passage into Canada.

More than 50 children and teens were sent to government group homes.
Authorities believe at least two other ships sneaked into British Columbia waters that year and successfully delivered their cargo before being sunk

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