In late August 2001, the Howard government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 433 rescued refugees (predominantly Hazaras of Afghanistan) from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters and 5 crew, to enter Australian waters.Statement by Australian Ambassador , UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 56th SESSION, 27 November 2001 This triggered an Australian political controversy in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, and a diplomatic dispute between Australia and Norway.
When Tampa entered Australian waters, the Prime Minister ordered the ship be boarded by Australian special forces. This brought censure from the government of Norway, which said the Australian government failed to meet its obligations to distressed mariners under international law at the United Nations. Within a few days, the government introduced the Border Protection Bill into the House of Representatives, saying it would confirm Australian sovereignty to "determine who will enter and reside in Australia". The government introduced the "Pacific Solution", whereby the asylum seekers were taken to Nauru where their refugee status was considered, rather than in Australia.
Rescue at sea
In the years leading up to 2001, increasing numbers of people attempted to travel to Australia by boat to seek asylum as refugees. Many of these arrived off Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, 2,000 km off the north-west coast of Australia and 500 km south of Jakarta, Indonesia. Hundreds of people arrived on tightly packed, unseaworthy vessels, and many paid large amounts of money to people smugglers for their passage to Australia.
At dawn on 24 August 2001, a 20-metre wooden fishing boat, the Palapa 1, with 438 (369 men, 26 women and 43 children) mainly Hazara, became stranded in international waters about 140 km north of Christmas Island.
On 26 August, Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Australia, which had been aware of the vessel's distress, possibly through Coastwatch surveillance, requested all ships in the area to respond. Of the ships that acknowledged the request, Tampa was closest to the site and began to proceed towards the distressed Palapa 1.
According to international law, survivors of a shipwreck are to be taken to the closest suitable port on the vessel's intended course for medical treatment. Such a port was 12 hours away in Merak, Indonesia. Christmas Island was six or seven hours closer,David Marr & Marian Wilkinson (2005). Dark Victory, p 30. . but it did not have the ability to receive large shipping freighters and neither was it on the vessel's route.
The Australian rescue authorities had been the first to become aware of the vessel's distress, and for some time attempted to contact the relevant Indonesian authorities to attend to the rescue. RCC sent a fax to the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) on the night of 25 August but received no response. On Sunday, 26 August, Australian EST, the Australian embassy sent the naval attaché David Ramsay to visit Basarnas. By this time, Australian surveillance had observed that the ship's passengers had fashioned signs that read "SOS" and "HELP" on the ship's deck and, in response, further attempts were made to contact Basarnas, first by fax and then through the defence attaché in Jakarta. At this time, DIMA called RCC "asking if vessels that respond to Australian search and rescue broadcast can tow the stranded vessel to Indonesia".
A call to shipping was broadcast at 12:48 Canberra time:
Subject: Distress Relay. A 35-metre Indonesian type vessel with 80 plus persons on board adrift in the vicinity of 09.32.5 south 104.44 east… vessel has SOS and HELP written on the roof. Vessels within 10 hours report best ETA and intentions to this station.
Captain Arne Rinnan of MV Tampa responded to the mayday call: "We are on a voyage from Fremantle to Singapore via Sunda Strait… We have changed course and are headed for position of distress… Please advise further course of action. A Rinnan, Master." After an hour of setting course for the vessel, Rinnan received a direction from RCC apparently attempting to disown the rescue operation: "Please note that Indonesian search and rescue authorities have accepted co-ordination of this incident."
Tampa reached the vessel, guided by Australian Coastwatch de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft, at about 2 pm. The first child was lifted to safety at 2:30pm and the rescue operation continued all afternoon.
Rinnan recounted in an interview with Norway Today:
During the rescue, Rinnan received a call from Jakarta advising him to disembark the passengers at the ferry port of Merak, Indonesia.
About half an hour after Tampa had set sail toward Indonesia, a delegation of five asylum seekers visited the bridge to demand passage to Australian territory, specifically Christmas Island, or any western country.David Marr & Marian Wilkinson (2005). Dark Victory, p 26. . The group was quite aggressive and agitated and Rinnan agreed to alter course for Christmas Island.
When interviewed by UK newspaper The Observer, Rinnan explained: "A delegation of five men came up to the bridge. They behaved aggressively and told us to go to Australia. They said they had nothing to lose." Although Rinnan reported that he did not feel threatened and there was no risk of him losing his ship, he was conscious of the fact that there was now insufficient safety equipment or rations for all persons on board.
Denial of permission to enter Australia The ship requested the Australian government's permission to unload the asylum seekers at Christmas Island, arguing that the ship could not sail to Indonesia, because it was unseaworthy — the ship was not designed for 438 people, only its 27 crew; and there were no lifeboats or other safety equipment available for the asylum seekers in the case of an emergency. The Australian government refused permission for the ship to enter Australia's territorial waters, and threatened to prosecute Captain Arne Rinnan as a people smuggler if it did so.David Marr & Marian Wilkinson (2005). Dark Victory, p 31. .
The Australian government denied any obligation under international law as Christmas Island lies within a zone designated as Indonesia's responsibility for rescue according to an agreement made in 1990 between Australia and Indonesia. Indonesia had also accepted co-ordination of the rescue, and the closest suitable port was Merak in Indonesia. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer explained to parliament that "It is important that people understand that Australia has no obligation under International law to accept the rescued persons in to Australian territory." Australian ambassador David Stuart said in the United Nations that "the rescue by the MV Tampa occurred outside the search and rescue region designated as being the responsibility of Australia." Although Tampa had responded to a broadcast by an Australian rescue agency, on 30 August, Downer stated in parliament that the survivors were picked up "at the direction of the Indonesian search and rescue authorities."
Faced with Australia's threats of prosecution, Captain Rinnan agreed to turn slowly back towards Indonesia in the hope that the asylum seekers would not notice. About half an hour into the turn, however, they did notice and again became agitated. Captain Rinnan, concerned that if the ship continued to sail to Indonesia the asylum seekers could jump overboard or riot and harm the crew, decided to head back towards Christmas Island.David Marr & Marian Wilkinson (2005). Dark Victory, p. 33. .
As the ship approached the boundary of Australia's territorial waters ( from the island), Captain Rinnan pleaded for permission for the ship to dock at Christmas Island. He reported that several of the asylum seekers were unconscious, and others were suffering from dysentery, statements subsequently supported by the Special Air Service (SAS) physician, but later disputed by Australian authorities. The Australian government provided medical assistance and food, but still refused permission for the ship to enter Australian territorial waters. The Australian government sent military personnel to Christmas Island, ostensibly to be ready to provide this assistance to the ship.
On 29 August, Captain Rinnan, having lost patience with the Australian authorities, increasingly concerned for the safety of the asylum seekers and the ship's crew, and also possibly acting under direction of the Norwegian Government, declared a state of emergency and proceeded to enter Australian territorial waters without permission. The legality of this action has been the subject of debate, with the Australian government maintaining that it was illegal.
Deployment of the SAS The Australian government responded by dispatching Australian troops from the SAS led by squadron commander Major Vance Khan, under Colonel Gus Gilmore, to board the ship and prevent it from approaching any closer to Christmas Island.
The SAS doctor later reported that the rescuees were generally dehydrated, malnourished and unhappy. Many were suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and minor ailments including sixty one cases of scabies, forty six cases of head lice and twenty six cases of gastroenteritis, among other conditions. They also attended to four pregnant women.
There were some disputes between the SAS and the ship's medical officer Christian Maltau, a deck officer with limited medical experience, regarding the deployment of medical supplies from Tampa, and the use of the limited supplies of water. In one incident, the ship's officer turned off the ship's water supply while rescuees were being washed after an outbreak of diarrhoea.
Captain Rinnan anchored approximately four nautical miles off Christmas Island. Shortly afterwards the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, reported the boarding of the ship to the Australian Parliament.
Escalation The Australian troops instructed Captain Rinnan to move the ship back into international waters; he refused, claiming the ship was unsafe to sail until the asylum seekers had been offloaded. The ship-owners said they agreed with his decision, and the Norwegian government warned the Australian government not to seek to force the ship to return to international waters against the captain's will.Tampa-saken in Store norske leksikon
The Australian government tried to persuade Indonesia to accept the asylum seekers; Indonesia refused. Norway also refused to accept the asylum seekers and reported Australia to the United Nations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Maritime Organization for alleged failure to obey its duties under international law, though it did not ask for the assistance of these organisations.
Captain Rinnan received the highest civil honour in Norway as a result of his handling of this difficult incident. Rinnan has been a sailor since 1958, and a captain for 23 years. He said of the incident:
I have seen most of what there is to see in this profession, but what I experienced on this trip is the worst. When we asked for food and medicine for the refugees, the Australians sent commando troops on board. This created a very high tension among the refugees. After an hour of checking the refugees, the troops agreed to give medical assistance to some of them… The soldiers obviously didn't like their mission.
Border Protection Bill 2001