Asylum-seekers begin ship transfer

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia (CNN) -- The transfer of asylum-seekers from the Norwegian ship MS Tampa to an Australian Navy troop ship is believed to be under way off the Australian territory of Christmas Island.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard gave a media conference saying the operation would be under way around 4 p.m. (Australian time) (6 a.m. GMT).

The Prime Minister said the transfer would take up to six hours, Australian Associated Press reports.

The Manoora would sail tonight for Port Moresby, after the transfer was safely completed, he said.

Christmas Island harbor master Don O'Donnell earlier said two local barges would be used to transfer the asylum-seekers from the Tampa to the Manoora.

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The barges were very stable and big enough to carry at least 30 people each, plus a small crew including military personnel, he said.

The asylum-seekers have been stranded for more than a week off the coast of Australia's Christmas Island after being rescued from their sinking vessel by the Norwegian ship.

However the Australian Government barred the asylum-seekers from entering Australian shores and sent troops onto the ship to prevent them disembarking.

A Melbourne federal court Monday approved the transfer of the asylum-seekers to the Manoora.

The deal was announced in court after overnight talks between human rights groups and the Australian Government.

Julian Burnside QC, for the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, told the court the Government had agreed that none of the asylum-seekers would leave the Manoora until the council's legal case for the asylum-seekers to be brought to Australia was resolved.

The VCCL and Melbourne lawyer Eric Vadarlis are seeking court orders to have the asylum-seekers -- believed mainly to be from Afghanistan -- to be brought to Australia for processing as refugees.

Several legal issues must be considered, such as whether the asylum-seekers are within the "migration zone" -- that is, legally allowed to migrate to shore -- and concern that if they are allowed to land, their claims would supersede other asylum requests.

Australian Government officials are worried that allowing these boat-people to land could trigger an influx of other asylum-seekers from nearby Indonesia and Malaysia.

Christmas Island's nearest neighbor is Indonesia's Java Island, about 400 kilometers (220 miles) away.

Australia has faced strong criticism over the handling of the asylum-seekers on board the Norwegian freighter, including from Norway and U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson.

Annan finds plan acceptable

However, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Sunday he found the Australian plan for transferring the asylum-seekers to other Pacific nations for processing acceptable.

"Our main concern is that the refugees are treated humanely and their treatment respects the refugee protection laws, and we have been given the assurance by the Australians that they intend to do that," Annan told a news conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa.

"So we hope that the operations go smoothly and the refugees on the boat find refuge soon," he said.

Prime Minister Howard said the Manoora would sail to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

"Then they will be transferred to aircraft that will take them to Nauru and to New Zealand," Howard said.

Howard said the Manoora was a much more comfortable ship than the Norwegian cargo vessel. "It's a large troop ship that has extensive medical facilities on board -- including, I understand, two operating theaters," he said.

Forced to sail to Christmas Island

The Tampa rescued the refugees last Sunday when their Indonesian vessel began to sink.

The group then forced the ship's skipper to head for Australian waters, but the passengers' fate was thrown into limbo when Australia refused to let the ship dock.

New Zealand has agreed to process 150 of those currently aboard the Tampa, including family groups that include women and children.

Those determined to be genuine refugees would remain there.

The remainder will be assessed in Nauru and those deemed to have valid claims would have access to Australia "and other countries willing to share in the settlement," Howard said.

Australia has offered to pay the full cost of Nauru's involvement in this exercise.