INTERVIEW - ABC NEWS RADIO WITH ANNA HIPSLEY AND MARIUS BENSON
2 November 2009
Subject: Vessel in distress 350 nm from Cocos Island
HIPSLEY: Australian is coordinating a rescue mission to save a group of 40 people whose boat is reportedly sunk off the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Seventeen people have been rescued so far and Orion patrol aircraft has been sent to the area while two ships in the region has been searching for survivors. At the same time the stand-off continues over the 78 asylum seekers refusing to leave the Australian custom ship, the Oceanic Viking in Indonesia. For more on those developing stories, Marius Benson is speaking to the Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor. First, to the rescue mission off the Cocos Islands.
O’CONNOR: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received information yesterday that there was a vessel that had sunk approximately 350 NM northwest of Cocos Islands. Initial indications from a commercial vessel on site or near site were that approximately 40 people were believed to be onboard. The two foreign flagged commercial vessels were rendering assistance to the people in the water, and the latest advice I have received is that 17 people have been recovered and are on the commercial vessels. The RAAF P-3 surveillance aircraft is on its way to the scene in order to help the operation and there are no, at this point, Australian vessels at the scene.
BENSON: Seventeen people recovered from the sea.
O’CONNOR: That’s the advice I’ve received. Correct.
BENSON: And the search continuing obviously for those others still lost at sea?
O’CONNOR: Indeed, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority will continue to coordinate the search and rescue operation as it’s in our search and rescue zone, we’ll continue to do that of course and will do everything we can to assist any passengers that remain at sea.
BENSON: What do you know about these people and the vessel they were travelling on?
O’CONNOR: Look, I don’t know a great deal at this point; the vessel was under stress clearly, and indicated a need for it to be rescued. At this point we don’t have a great deal of information to provide or have yet confirmed information as to the vessel itself or the passengers. Our focus at this point, as you can imagine, is on providing whatever assistance we can to ensure that the rescue of these people that have been in this tragic situation.
BENSON: The 17 who have been rescued, will they be dealt with by Australian authorities or Australian rescue crews now?
O’CONNOR: We’ll ensure that we do everything we can firstly, to rescue any remaining passengers that are at sea and provide whatever other support is required to assist the commercial vessels. And that’s our focus at the moment. But of course we’ll look to the issues about where the passengers should head as soon as we’ve done everything we can to save people that may be in the sea at this point.
BENSON: Okay. Can I switch to the Oceanic Viking in waters off the Indonesian island, 78 people onboard still there, have there been any developments? Certainly there seem to be dramatic developments in terms of threats from the people onboard threatening to kill themselves if they are forced to go to Indonesia?
O’CONNOR: Look,—the Oceanic Viking is—the passengers on the Oceanic Viking are still working very closely and are certainly in the good care of the personnel. The doctor provides and ensures that people are indeed fine and will continue to monitor the wellbeing of those passengers. Meanwhile the personnel and indeed other authorities will continue to work through this process so that we can calmly and in a proper way, transfer these passengers onto the Indonesian soil.
BENSON: Is any resolution in sight at the moment?
O’CONNOR: We’ll continue to work through those issues that are of course—that are of course, have been problematic. We have an agreement between the two countries and as a result, the Indonesian authorities and indeed, the Australian authorities will continue to do what needs to be done to realise the agreement struck.
