The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) says more of the remaining 19 men on board a ship seized by Papua New Guinea near the Australian border last week could be forced labourers.
The ship was seized on July 27 just off Daru Island, the administrative centre for Western Province on the PNG side of international border in the Torres Strait.
The 80-meter Blissful Reefer is due in the capital Port Moresby today from Daru, where the men will be interviewed with IOM interpreters.
“There were initially eight victims of trafficking that we identified, they are now under IOM care in Port Moresby,” said IOM country director George Gerouriou from Daru.
Two men are Cambodian and six from Myanmar and the remaining 19 on board the ship include Thai nationals.
“The ship has taken off to Port Moresby and, once there, we’ll do screening and interviews to see how many more victims of trafficking we can identify from the group of nineteen,” said Gerouriou.
“There’s a captain on board and there’s crew and the PNG authorities will have to determine what role, if any, they played.”
PNG prime minister Peter O’Neill announced the ship’s seizure on Sunday and has warned there could be more operating in the region.
Australia’s department of Immigration and Border Protection said in a statement to SBS it was aware of the seizure but would not confirm or deny its involvement.
“The Department has not received any specific requests for operational assistance from PNG authorities in relation to the detainment of the vessel; although has been working closely to share information on vessels suspected of being involved in human trafficking,” it said in a statement to SBS.
“We believe that information-sharing has been a key part in the PNG operation and continue to work with our international partners to provide assistance and funding to combat human trafficking in the region.
“The Australian Border Force (ABF) maintains a strong presence in the Torres Strait. We conduct regular operational activities to monitor, deter and respond to any breaches to the border in the Torres Strait.”
Gerouriou says it is the first ship of its kind seized in Papua New Guinea but there had been reports of illegal fishing ships operating in a region called “the dog leg” near the Australian border.
“The ‘dog leg’ is basically where you go from Indonesia into PNG, it’s the waters of the Western Province, the very southern end of PNG, just above the Torres Strait,” he said.
Gerouriou said the Blissful Reefer would have had to traverse the Torres Strait international shipping channel that goes through Australian waters to reach Daru.