Thai ship and suspect human cargo nears Canada

A Thai ship involved in human trafficking was reported Thursday to be inside Canadian waters and closing on the shore, with 500 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka aboard.

A tortuous voyage by the Thai-registered Harin Panich 19, under a new name, M/V Sun Sea, was believed organised from Bangkok by operatives of the Tamil Tigers.

The purpose of the voyage is unknown, as are most details, including the recent background of the ship, built and originally owned by the Harin Group, which has its head office in Bangkholeam district along New Road, Bangkok.

The Sri Lankan government has warned that the passengers include terrorists from the Tamil Tigers, and Canada reportedly has taken the warning seriously. Canada lists the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organisation.

The ship was reported to be involved in clandestine operations last May, and the Thai Navy put out an alert across the region, asking other countries to help to locate the Harin Panich 19, aka M/V Sun Sea.

The 30-year-old, 900-tonne vessel was built at the Harin Panich Shipyard on the Chao Phraya River near Bangkok. For most of the time since 1980, the 59-metre vessel carried general cargo between Thailand other countries in the region, especially Malaysian Borneo and Singpore.

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