Miscellaneous

Citation

(2002), "Miscellaneous", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 11 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2002.07311cac.004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

4 August 2001 – Flood in coal mine, Nandan County, China

More than 70 miners have been confirmed dead in a south China tin mine which flooded last month, the Communist Party's leading newspaper said today after days of official denials. A government minister was dispatched to Guangxi province yesterday to investigate. The mine owner has been detained, the newspaper said. The People's Daily said more than 70 were now confirmed dead in the 17 July accident in Guangxi's Nandan county. Other reports had said the accident occurred 16 July. The People's Daily said the mine flooded when miners drilled into a disused shaft that had been filled with water to stop it from collapsing.

21 August 2001 – Investigators have pumped out a south China tin mine which flooded and found 77 bodies, but the remains of other miners killed in the accident may still be buried, a government spokeswoman said today. The 17 July flooding of the mine in the southern Guangxi region was one of the worst disasters this year in China's accident-plagued mining industry. The government said it still did not know how many miners were trapped when they drilled into a disused, water-filled shaft, unleashing a torrent, but state media said hundreds were working in the mine and that the number killed may never be known because bodies will have rotted in the floodwaters. Pumping out the seven flooded mine shafts took 20 days, with 1,500 people working round the clock in the heat, humidity and foul air of the pit, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said the pumping operation was completed last night. A spokeswoman for the government's industrial safety bureau said today that 77 bodies had been found, but it was possible that more bodies were covered by mud. Mine executives hired armed thugs and paid off victims' families in an effort to conceal the accident, according to state- run newspapers. Their reports on the disaster eventually forced the government, which at first denied an accident had happened, to investigate.

8 August 2001 – Collapse of factory, China

At least three people have died after a factory condemned as unsafe collapsed in China. As many as 100 others were trapped in the debris of the collapse in Huangtian on the south-eastern coast. The electroplate factory collapsed without warning, an official said. Most of the people in the factory were migrant workers from poorer, inland provinces. The state-run newspaper Beijing Daily, quoting survivors, said more than 100 people were in the factory when it collapsed. Rescue efforts have been hampered because the factory is near a river and part of the debris was covered during high tide. Tide waters have already covered that part of the wreckage twice, making survival unlikely for any still buried. The building's owner and at least one factory manager have been arrested for operating the factory despite an order from town safety officials to shut it down.

27 August 2001 – Vessel with asylum seekers denied entry by Australia

Australia today refused entry to Norwegian ro/ro Tampa (49,326gt, built 1984) "hijacked" by 434 mostly Afghan asylum seekers rescued from a sinking boat, marking the first time the country has turned back a vessel carrying asylum seekers. Tampa was anchored off Australia's Christmas Island, which is much closer to Indonesia than the Australian mainland. "She does not have permission to enter Australian territorial waters and she will not be given permission to land in Australia or any Australian territories", Australian Prime Minister John Howard told a news conference in Canberra. The boat people were rescued by Tampa yesterday after their vessel sent out a distress signal in waters off Indonesia. Captain Arne Rinnan said the asylum seekers threatened to jump overboard if he did not change course to Australia. His vessel, which has 27 crew, was originally headed for Singapore. "This would have turned into a very ugly situation if we had headed into Indonesian waters", Rinnan told Australian radio before the decision to turn back his vessel. Australia said Tampa had been in Indonesia's search and rescue waters at the time and that Indonesia had begun making preparations to receive the asylum seekers. "It is our view that it is a matter of international law, that this is something that must be resolved between the government of Indonesia and the government of Norway", Howard said. He said Indonesia and Norway had been notified but that Australia would supply humanitarian aid to the vessel. Christmas Island is 1,500km west of Australia and 350km south of the Indonesia island of Java. The tough stance to turn back the vessel received bipartisan support from Australia's opposition Labour party. Australia is battling growing numbers of Middle East asylum seekers who reach its vast and remote northwest coast in rickety boats after paying people smugglers in Indonesia. Over the past 11 days, more than 1,500 people, mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, have arrived in Australia, which has a much-criticised policy of detaining all illegal arrivals. Yesterday, Tampa received an SOS as she sailed from Fremantle to Singapore and altered course to rescue the asylum seekers. "The boat was in a bad condition and was falling apart when we were taking the people onboard", captain Rinnan said. He said the asylum seekers initially thanked him for saving their lives but then started to say they wanted to be taken to Australia or another Western country. "I had five people on the bridge and they were talking in aggressive and highly excited voices and were severely threatening", Rinnan said. "They flatly refused to go back to Indonesia and they were threatening to jump overboard." Rinnan said the asylum seekers were not armed and did not threaten to hurt him, his vessel or his crew.

28 August 2001 – Norway's foreign minister urged Australia to let more than 400 asylum seekers crammed onto ro/ro Tampa into an Australian port today, saying the situation was critical for those aboard. "Let me make it quite clear, our understanding is that Australia has a duty to let these refugees land at the nearest port", Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland told NRK radio. "The humanitarian situation is critical." A ministry spokesman said earlier reports that a team of Australian doctors had landed on the Tampa freighter, anchored in international waters off Australia's Christmas Island, south of Indonesia, were incorrect. The 438 mainly Afghan asylum seekers have been on the Tampa for the past two days since the vessel rescued them from their sinking wooden boat on Sunday (26 August). They have been refused entry by Australia, Indonesia and Norway. Oslo says it has not even considered offering them asylum. All men on board have gone on hunger strike and are refusing medical treatment. Many are suffering from dysentery, fatigue, scabies and dehydration. Jagland said the Norwegian-owned Tampa had changed course and picked up the refugees only after a request from Australian rescue officials. He said he would contact Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to put forward Norway's view. The owners, Wilh Wilhelsen, said the situation was getting steadily worse for the refugees. "The situation for the people aboard is still very difficult. There are ill people and people refusing to eat and drink", company spokesman Hans Christian Bangsmoen told Reuters. "We feel that the situation is a little more dramatic today than yesterday," he said. He said no help had so far arrived from land. He also said the vessel could not safely sail to another port with its current load, or would at least need a special permit from the Norwegian Maritime Directorate. But Asle Eilertsen, deputy director at the directorate, said there was no such thing as a special permit in such emergencies. "If it's an emergency the captain can take as many people as the boat will carry and has to bring them to land", he told Reuters. "The usual thing is to take them to the nearest port. If that port is not available it becomes a political issue", he said. "But there is no permit from us in such emergencies."

29 August 2001 – The master of ro/ro Tampa this morning began bringing his vessel closer to Christmas Island with her 438 rescued refugees in order to make it easier for a doctor to go on board with medical supplies. It was not clear whether the vessel entered Australian territorial waters with government approval. SAS troops have taken to boats and are approaching the vessel, according to television reports. The vessel was reported to be two nautical miles from Christmas Island at noon. Prime minister John Howard this morning promised that a helicopter will take medical supplies to the Tampa as soon as the aircraft is assembled.

29 August 2001 – Norway reported Australia to the United Nations todayfor sending special forces onto ro/ro Tampa, packed with asylum seekers, to prevent the vessel from docking at an Australian port. Norway's government also said it had no plans to offer a blanket asylum to the 434 mostly Afghan asylum seekers on board the Tampa, many of them sick, to help solve a three-nation tussle with Australia and Indonesia. Australian special forces seized control of the freighter today after she entered Australian waters, breaching the 12 mile limit off Christmas Island, with the master arguing that many were sick and in need of help. "We have reported the situation to the International Maritime Organisation", Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland told NRK public radio, referring to the United Nations maritime agency. He said there were 50 soldiers on board. He said that Oslo also reported the refusal of Australia to let the vessel land at remote Christmas Island to the UN refugee agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross. "This is the wrong reaction to a humanitarian problem", Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said of the Australian refusal to let the vessel dock four days after she picked up the refugees from a sinking ferry. He said he spoke to Australian Prime Minister John Howard overnight without reaching any agreement. "It is part of the law of the sea and humanitarian principles that the nearest port should offer emergency humanitarian assistance", he said. Norway says thevessel cannot go to the second nearest port, 14 hours away in Indonesia, because it is an unsafe voyage for a vessel normally permitted to carry about 50 people. Stoltenberg said that Norway had made no offers of accepting all or some of the refugees to try to break the deadlock. "That's not something we're considering", he said, adding that Australia should solve the humanitarian needs first. "Where the refugees will go afterwards is another question. I think it's wrong to combine these two problems", he said. He said that Norway believed that Australia and Indonesia, where the original ferry started out before sending an SOS, had responsibility to sort out the fate of the refugees. "All previous practice and laws say that ships that help other vesselsin an emergency do not become the responsibility of their country of origin",he said. The master said he had no choice but to breach Australia's territorial waters around Christmas Island as conditions on board had deteriorated. The owners of the vessel accused Australian doctors of making only a cursory examination of those on board before deciding that only a few were in need of urgent aid. "They took a very quick and superficial … overview andcame to a different conclusion to us",Hans Christian Bangsmoen, spokesmanfor Wallenius Wilhelmsen, told NRK.He said it was impossible to assess the health of more than 400 people on the Tampa "within a few minutes". He saidthe military doctors concluded that onlya few needed help. Men on board thevessel have gone on hunger strike and are refusing medical treatment. Many are suffering from dysentery, fatigue, scabies and dehydration.

29 August 2001 – The Australian Government has failed to secure new emergency powers that would have given it legal cover to return ro/ro Tampa, packed with mainly Afghan asylum-seekers to international waters. The government legislation was rejected by an opposition alliance in the Senate, which described it as too sweeping and politically-motivated. Correspondents say it is the first sign that Australia's political consensus on the crisis is weakening. The opposition Labour Party won support from smaller parties and managed to defeat the bill in a late-night sitting. However, all parties still support the government's position that the Norwegian vessel will not be allowed to dock at an Australian port. Norway has reported Australia to the UN for refusing to allow the vessel to enter its territory. The Tampa rescued the asylum-seekers from their sinking vessel off the coast of Indonesia on Sunday (26 August). Australian SAS troops boarded the Tampa after she defied orders to stay outside Australian territorial waters and headed towards Christmas Island. Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjoern Jagland said the priority was to get emergency supplies to those on board and he urged Australia to stick to what he said was its international obligation. Hundreds of men, women and children from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are crammed on to the vessel's deck. Many are on hunger strike, said the vessel's master. Australia has organised an operation to provide the refugees with emergency food and medical supplies, but it remains adamant in its refusal to allow the vessel to dock. Australian doctors who have seen those on board say only a handful needed medical attention. Norway has also reported Australia to the Red Cross and other international bodies, including the International Maritime Organisation. Mr Jagland said the 1951 UN convention on refugees stated specifically that refugees rescued on the high seas should be taken immediately to the nearest port. He said Norway would continue to insist that Australia accept responsibility for the 438 refugees on board the vessel. "Our opinion is that international law is on our side", he said. The Norwegians have also objected to Australian troops taking control of the vessel. The vessel's owners have accused Australia of "piracy", saying it had no right to board the vessel because she represents Norwegian sovereign territory. The vessel is currently still off Christmas Island. The refugees have threatened to riot if the vessel sails out of sight of the island. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, said the troops had told the Tampa to head back to international waters, but he admitted the master seemed disinclined to move, which "creates, of course, a very serious situation". Three high-speed Australian navy boats carrying 60 Special Air Services troops intercepted the vessel after she crossed the 12 mile territorial limit. Mr Howard said that the Tampa entered Australian territorial waters despite an earlier undertaking not to do so if medical assistance was given. "The SAS personnel on the vessel have put it to the captain that the appropriate thing would be for the captain to return to international waters", he said. The asylum-seekers have demanded to be taken to Australia, but Australia says they should be returned to Indonesia. The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hasan Wirayuda, has said J akarta will not allow the vessel to dock in Indonesian territory. The Tampa picked up the refugees as the wooden Indonesian vessel carrying them was on the point of sinking.

1 September 2001 – The asylum seekers stranded on board ro/ro Tampa off Christmas Island will be processed in a third country, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today. The boat people would be split into two groups, with 150 mainly women, children and families taken to New Zealand and the rest to be shipped to Nauru, Mr Howard said. In the case of Nauru, Australia will fund the total cost of the process. Mr Howard stressed that at no time would the people land on Australian territory. "This does not involve the people being taken onto Christmas Island or any Australian territory", Mr Howard said. Mr Howard said he had informed the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) of the plan after the speaking on the phone with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Nauru president Rene Harris. New Zealand had agreed to take 150 of those on board the Tampa. Nauru would take the other 310. "Australia will bear the full cost of Nauru's involvement in the exercise", Mr Howard said. He said the people would be trans-shipped through a third country, but he was not yet able to name it. "We are currently in discussions with appropriate countries to effect this", he said. "We are also working closely with the International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR to ensure these arrangements are managed carefully and that the rescuees receive appropriate counselling and assistance. Australia will continue to ensure that the rescuees receive all necessary humanitarian assistance while these arrangements are put in place." In Melbourne, Mr Howard's announcement prompted an adjournment of a Federal Court case in which the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties (VCCL) was seeking an order that the asylum seekers be allowed to go ashore so they could lodge applications for refugee status. Justice Tony North said the prime minister's announcement was of "sufficient significance" to stand the matter down for a short time. Lawyers from both sides then moved into talks to determine the future of the application.

2 September 2001 – Australia prepared to use a navy troop carrier tomorrow to ferry 433 asylum seekers from ro/ro Tampa off Christmas Island but the operation was stalled pending a court ruling. Prime Minister John Howard outlined plans today for HMAS Manoora to take the mainly Afghan boat people from the Tampa to Papua New Guinea, where they would be put on planes for New Zealand and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. Howard has remained resolute in his refusal to let the asylum seekers onto Australian soil but said that the government would respect the injunction of Friday (31 August) imposed by a court which is considering whether its handling of the crisis has been lawful. The Federal Court hearing in Melbourne, triggered by an application by a civil liberties group, continued late into tonight before it was adjourned until tomorrow. The asylum seekers or the Tampa cannot be moved until a ruling is made. "I want it to be known that the court is being informed that the Manoora is now ready to take people", Howard said today. Australia, where immigration is an election-year issue, and Indonesia both refused entry to the asylum seekers. Nauru has agreed to take 283 of the boat people and New Zealand 150 while their asylum requests are processed. Howard said agreement had been reached with Papua New Guinea for the asylum seekers to be shipped on board the Manoora to Port Moresby, where aircraft would take them to Nauru and New Zealand. The Tampa, secured by Australian troops five days ago, is lying in Australian waters close to Christmas Island, which is 217 miles south of Indonesia and 930 miles west of the Australian mainland. The Manoora arrived off Christmas Island this afternoon. Helicopters began ferrying supplies out to the troop carrier. Pillows, blankets and medical supplies lay stacked by the runway at the island's airport. The Manoora, an amphibious transport ship, is able to carry 450 troops as well as her own crew of 180 over distances of up to 3,720 miles. She could pull alongside the Tampa and lower her landing ramp to connect with the other vessel's roll-on, roll-off ramp so the migrants can walk across.

3 September 2001 – An Australian court has ruled that more than 400 mainly Afghan asylum seekers can be moved, pending a final ruling on whether Australia is acting lawfully in refusing to accept them. The decision clears the way for the people to be transferred from the ro/ro Tampa, which rescued them a week ago, and put on board an Australian navy troop vessel. They will be taken to Papua New Guinea by sea, and then flown on to New Zealand and Nauru, where their asylum claims will be assessed. A civil liberties group brought the case in the Melbourne court, arguing that Australia was legally obliged to accept the refugees – something Prime Minister John Howard consistently refused to consider. It will take between six or ten days for the refugees to reach Port Moresby. If the Melbourne court finds Mr Howard's government acted illegally, the refugees will be returned to Australia. Australia will meet the costs of the operation, and has also agreed to take some of the refugees, if their claims are judged to be genuine. The government's decision has split Australia. Norway has criticised the plan for dealing with the asylum seekers, saying it is not acceptable under international law. It said the best solution would have been to allow them ashore immediately, on Christmas Island, rather than make them endure more time at sea. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, had also backed such a move, but UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has now accepted the Australian plan to transfer the refugees, despite reservations.

3 September 2001 – All of the refugees on board ro/ro Tampa, off Australia's Christmas Island, left the vessel today, for an Australian navy troop carrier, Norway's foreign ministry said. Tampa is empty of asylum seekers, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Gry Haaheim said. She said the ministry had been informed by Norwegian ambassador to Australia, Ove Thorsheim, who is on Christmas Island.

3 September 2001 – A court case into whether Australia acted unlawfully in refusing to accept 433 asylum seekers rescued from a sinking ferry adjourned today, with a final ruling not expected before Wednesday(5 September). A ruling against the government could force Australia to accept the asylum seekers. Canberra has refused them entry since ro/ro Tampa rescued them from a sinking Indonesian ferry on 26 August. Court officials said the case would resume at 1015 tomorrow. Federal Court judge Tony North was expected to retire to consider his decision the same day but a ruling was not expected before Wednesday. The court earlier lifted an injunction barring the transfer of the mostly Afghan asylum seekers from the Tampa off Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to an Australian navy troop carrier. That transfer got under way today. The troop carrier HMAS Manoora is due to take the asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea. From there the boat people were to be flown to New Zealand and Nauru, which have agreed to accept them under a plan announced by Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday. The lifting of the injunction was agreed by both sides as a humanitarian step to house the asylum seekers in more comfortable conditions on board the troop carrier. Even if the Manoora reaches Papua New Guinea, the asylum seekers cannot be forced to leave her until Judge North rules on the application brought by a Victoria state civil liberties group. If North rules against the government, Canberra may still be forced to accept the boat people. Lawyers argued in the Federal Court that the asylum seekers should not be removed from Australia because they had been unlawfully detained on the Tampa and not allowed to exercise their rights to seek protection visas. Lawyer Julian Burnside, acting for the civil liberties group, said it was unrealistic for the government to argue that the asylum seekers had been free to go anywhere except Australia. "Their right to go anywhere else in the world is an illusion", Burnside told the court. Lawyers also argued that the government was acting illegally in expelling the asylum seekers from Australian waters. North has asked both sides to provide submissions on plans for the refugees, depending on his decision. Lawyer David Bennett said he would spend about 90 minutes putting the government's case tomorrow. An appeal is likely if the government loses the case but the court was told the appeal process was still likely to be resolved within the six to ten days it would take the Manoora to travel to Papua New Guinea.

4 September 2001 – Norwegian shipowner Wilh Wilhelmsen was considering whether to claim compensation from Australia as the ro/ro Tampa stand-off drew to a close yesterday. Wilhelmsen spokesman Hans Christian Bangsmoen stressed that such a decision had not yet been made. But the company will discuss this issue internally, as part of a sweeping review of the Tampa's detour to Christmas Island with 438 self-professed refugees whom she had rescued. The review will assess the detour's impact on the Tampa's four-and-a-half month world round-trip, starting and ending in Gothenburg. The round-the-world trading pattern is a Wilhelmsen hallmark, designed to optimise revenues. Mr Bangsmoen said the Tampa might now skip two ports to gain time, and return to Gothenburg as per its original schedule on 16 November. Wallenius Wilhelmsen has repositioned and chartered-in vessels to cover the hole in the schedule left by her eight day delay. Ro/ro Tarago has already been turned at Brisbane and is steaming directly to Inchon in South Korea to cover Tampa's East Asian liftings. Tarago's cargo was discharged at Brisbane and is being transferred to vehicle Takasago which is following. An extra vessel has now been chartered to take New Zealand cargo from Tauranga directly to Asia. Mr Bangsmoen said it was too early for Wilhelmsen to quantify the total cost of the week-long refugee episode. Gard vice-president Christen Guddal has said last week that the club would compensate Wilhelmsen for diversion costs incurred in changing course, plus costs directly and reasonably associated with the rescue itself. However, the insurance cover does not protect Wilhelmsen against related costs associated with consequential losses or loss of charterhire. The Tampa is understood to be loaded with a cargo worth about A$20 million, although the shipowner did not confirm this figure.

11 September 2001 – Nauru said today it was continuing with its plans to accept more than 500 asylum seekers rejected by Australia, despite a court ordering Australia to take most of the boat people. A spokesman for President Rene Harris said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had telephoned Harris after the Federal Court in Melbourne handed down its ruling and Nauru would continue with its plans "until advised otherwise". Australia struck a US$10.2 million deal with Nauru yesterday to offload 520 unwanted asylum seekers in return for diesel and other incentives. The Australian government said it would appeal against the decision and the asylum seekers continued to steam towards a staging point in Papua New Guinea aboard the Australian navy troop carrier HMAS Manoora.

11 September 2001 – Reported ro/ro Tampa arrived Singapore on 5 September, sailing on 7 September bound for Hong Kong, where she arrived on 10 September.

11 September 2001 – A federal court judge ruled, today, that the government illegally detained hundreds of migrants caught trying to reach the country on ro/ro Tampa andsaid they must be allowed to land on Australian soil. The government said it would appeal the ruling. If it did not, a naval vessel carrying the asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea would be compelled to turn back by Friday (14 September). A spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said the migrants would remain on the Navy troop carrier HMAS Manoora while the government appeals the decision. Speaking in Melbourne, Justice Tony North ruled Australia illegally detained the migrants and should now allow them to land on Australian soil. He gave the government until Friday to comply, barring an appeal by its attorneys. A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Daryl Williams said there would be an appeal. The Manoora was expected to arrive in Papua New Guinea late tomorrow. Manoora also took custody late Friday (7 September) of more than 200 new migrants, picked up at sea on their way toward Australia. They were expected to be taken to Nauru. Today's court ruling did not affect them.

17 September 2001 – Australia's Federal Court quashed last week's ruling that asylum seekers picked up by ro/ro Tampa were illegally detained on the vessel. Troop carrier HMAS Manoora is now able to disembark her passengers in Nauru, where their refugee status will be assessed. The appeal judges ruled that the Australian government was acting within its executive power by preventing the refugees from landing in Australia. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock today welcomed the ruling and expressed hope that it would deter other people smugglers.

18 September 2001 – Troop carrier HMAS Manoora will offload hundreds of asylum seekers tomorrow, onto the island of Nauru, even though some Iraqis are refusing to disembark, Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said. For a week, the Australian army has struggled to build makeshift tin and plastic accommodation for the asylum seekers on a barren sports field, surrounded by security fences, on Nauru. Manoora arrived at Nauru on 17 September. Under a US$10 million deal, Nauru will process 283 of the Tampa migrants and 150 will go to New Zealand. A further 237, mostly Iraqi boat people, were intercepted by Australia last week and transferred to the Manoora and taken to Nauru. The government's position is firm on this: the only option is for people to disembark the Manoora if they are going to have claims considered. Today, the Australian government toughened its opposition to illegal boat arrivals with new legislation that would remove remote island territories from Australia's migration zones and impose five-year jail terms for people smugglers. The Labour opposition said it would support the legislation, which is backdated to 8 September, bolstering legal support for the government's decision to turn away five boats carrying Middle Eastern and Afghani asylum seekers in the last two weeks. Under the proposed laws, asylum seekers would be treated the same as they are by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Indonesia, where most of the boats originate. The laws would also introduce minimum penalties of five years for a first conviction and eight years for a second conviction on charges of people smuggling.

19 September 2001 – About 100 mostly Afghan asylum seekers set foot on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru today after a three-week sea voyage which began when theywere refused entry into Australia. The group, the first from a total of 433 rescued froma sinking ferry in the Indian Ocean on26 August, were ferried from an Australian navy ship to Aiwo, the only port on Nauru. The tiny island of 12,000 residents only agreed to take the boat people after Australia offered a $10 million deal. It is unclear when the remaining boat people will be brought ashore. It is believed immigration officials on Nauru want to test a makeshift refugee camp with the first 100. Nauru has said it could take two to three months to process the asylum seekers. The stand-off between Australia and the boat people began on August 27 when ro/ro Tampa, which rescued them from their sinking ferry, arrived off Australia's remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Australia refused it entry, but the vessel's master crossed into Australian territorial waters after the asylum seekers threatened to jump overboard. After a stand-off, Australian troops boarded the Tampa and the boat people were transferred to an Australian navy vessel, troop carrier Manoora, and taken to Nauru. Nauru will process 283 of the Tampa migrants and 150 will go to New Zealand. Any that prove to be genuine refugees will be able to settle in Australia and New Zealand. A further 237 mostly Iraqi boat people were intercepted by Australia last week and transferred to the Manoora. They will also be ferried to Nauru for processing.