A defender of fish patrolling the high seas
The Age
Friday October 30, 2009
OH, THE heroic travails of the Oceanic Viking. In the past five years, the 105-metre boat has come to the aid of whales, Patagonian toothfish, a sick Portuguese sailor and now asylum seekers.In 2004, the patrol boat's sophisticated medical facilities were used to treat an unconscious Portuguese fisherman suffering from a burst duodenal ulcer. Its staff are trained in weaponry, cold climate survival and the use of force.In February 2008 the Oceanic Viking completed a seven-week stint monitoring Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.In 2006 the vessel apprehended a boat that had illegally caught 143 tonnes of Patagonian toothfish.The boat can withstand force 12 gales and seas of more than 10 metres, according to the Customs and Border Protection website.Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the situation on the Oceanic Viking was "highly stressful" for the 78 refugees and the crew.When these seafarers signed on they would never have envisaged themselves in the centre of a situation which has become a political maelstrom," Mr Crumlin said in a statement last night. "By the hour it's a highly stressful situation for the refugees and likewise for the crew who are in many ways the men in the middle."The MUA has been in contact about conditions on board and there are 13 MUA crew on the ship, the union confirmed.Mr Crumlin praised the crew and said they were working hard to keep the ship clean and to ensure that the kitchen could cope. He said the two cooks normally catered for 20 to 30 people and were now feeding an extra 78, as well as customs officers.Yesterday, the Opposition demanded the Government reveal how much the Oceanic Viking's most recent rescue mission had cost Australian taxpayers.Immigration Minister Chris Evans gave no figure, but said: "The alternative cost was the death of 78 people."There is some doubt as to the urgency of the asylum seekers' original distress call. The boat was watched from a naval vessel for a day before passengers were transferred to the customs patrol vessel.The Oceanic Viking, where they now are, is equipped with two 9.2 metre jet-propelled rescue boats and a sufficient number of life jackets. With BEN SCHNEIDERS
Β© 2009 The Age