Warship arrives as asylum seekers await transfer

Howard: Adamant the asylum seekers would not step foot on Australian territory

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia (CNN) -- An Australian troop carrier arrived off the coast of Christmas Island Sunday, expected to load 460 asylum seekers from a Norwegian cargo vessel for transfer to New Zealand and Nauru.

After announcing that New Zealand and Nauru would process the asylum seekers, Australia has been seeking a way to get them there without having them set foot on Australian soil.

An announcement is expected later Sunday from Australia's Defence Ministry on how the asylum seekers will be transferred to the processing points.

The troop carrier, HMAS Manoora, is rated to take 400 passengers as well as 180 crew though it is unclear what exact role the ship will take.

A local media report suggested the HMAS Manoora would moor near the Norwegian ship, allowing the asylum seekers to walk across a ramp to the naval vessel.

Earlier Sunday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard hinted to Australian Broadcasting Corp. television that the asylum seekers would be transferred to another ship.

"I am not a naval expert ... but I have every confidence in the ADF [Australian Defense Force] and they have done these sorts of things and more difficult things than this before," Howard said.

It is unknown whether they would then sail to Nauru or New Zealand, or be relocated to another transfer point.

The newspaper report said Papua New Guinea would act as staging post for transfer of the boat people to New Zealand and Nauru.

Agreement reached

Since announcing an agreement designed to resolve the six-day impasse on Saturday, Australia has been scrambling to negotiate the transfer process, rejecting claims its plan was a shambles.

Under the agreement Howard said that New Zealand and the Pacific Island state of Nauru had agreed to process the approximately 460 asylum seekers, most of them from Afghanistan, but the process could take up to a week.

The refugees were rescued by the Norwegian MV Tampa nearly a week ago 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.

Under the agreement, New Zealand would process as many as 150 asylum seekers - mostly women and children. The rest would be sent to Nauru.

Those assessed to be bona fide refugees will be resettled in several countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

However, the Australian Government is maintaining its refusal to allow them to disembark on Christmas Island, an Australian territory 350 km (217 miles) south of Indonesia and 2,000 km from the Australian mainland.

The Tampa is unable to sail the asylum seekers to New Zealand or Nauru, meaning they would have be taken off the ship in order to be transferred to the processing points.

"They can't be processed in Australia. I don't believe that what we we're proposing is inhumane," Howard said.

"As soon as we can negotiate their transfer and get them on to the ships and away to Nauru and New Zealand, the better."

Court case

The asylum seekers have been aboard the MV Tampa for almost a week

Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Court is hearing Sunday a case brought on the migrants' behalf by civil rights lawyers seeking asylum in Australia for those aboard the Tampa.

The sitting judge ordered the Tampa to remain in Australian waters with the asylum seekers on board until the court handed down its decision.

The refusal to allow the refugees to disembark on Christmas Island so they can be transferred has also drawn criticism from the U.N.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said it would be much better to have the transfer point at Christmas Island.

"It's not an ideal situation, and I feel for the refugees who are on this ship, in the heat, in containers," The Associated Press quoted Annan on Saturday from a racism summit in Durban, South Africa.

"Even though some efforts have been made to improve their situation and give them some minimum comfort, this is not a way to handle a refugee situation," he said.

The office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it had questions about "some crucial elements" of the plan. The agency said it had conveyed the questions to the players involved and was awaiting clarification.

Branson offer

When told of the plan, the reaction of the asylum seekers on board the Tampa was of disappointment.

Already forced to live on the ship's deck for almost a week, many threatened to throw themselves overboard and swim for the island.

They now face the prospect of lengthy voyages -- Nauru is around 4500 km from Christmas Island -- with their final destination for resettlement still unknown.

Earlier Sunday, Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Atlantic Airways, offered to fly many of asylum-seekers to New Zealand.

But Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is dismissing the offer, saying the country has enough planes.

The UNHCR statement said it still favors its own solution to the dispute, which it proposed Friday. The three-part plan calls for the asylum seekers' "temporary disembarkation, for humanitarian reasons" onto Christmas Island, which the agency said was "the most logical and humane" solution.

But the UNHCR said it recognizes others have different options on the table, saying, "We urge that any actions taken in resolving this complex and difficult situation be humane and consistent with international refugee protection law."