Boat with 64 Sri Lankan asylum seekers brings total to 350 since Australia’s federal election

A group of asylum seekers huddled on a fishing boat have been stopped by the Sri Lankan Navy moments before they could start their journey to Australia, bringing the tally of people trying to make it Down Under since the election to 350.

The fishing trawler was intercepted just off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, near the port city of Trincomalee, on Wednesday.

It marks the fourth time Sri Lankan authorities have stopped an asylum seeker boat in as many weeks.

The group, which had hoped to make the treacherous Indian Ocean journey on Wednesday morning, was promised ‘safe passage to an Australian beach’ by the people smugglers.

‘A special operation mounted by Sri Lanka navy in the eastern seas this morning [Wednesday] led to the apprehension of 64 persons who were suspected to be attempting to illegally migrate from the country via sea routes,’ the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement.

Passengers on the boat were 50 men – including seven individuals involved in the racket – 11 women and three children, who were expected to be handed over to harbour police for legal proceedings.  

 The suspects, who attempted to migrate because of ‘a high risk to their lives’, are residents of Trincomalee, Mullaitivu and Jaffna in the north of the country.

Sri Lanka’s navy pleaded for people to not engage with smugglers and called the boats used in the recent capture ‘ruinous fishing vessels’.

‘The navy urges the public to avoid being convicted before the law by being caught in the trap of smugglers who persuade the innocent to engage in illegal and perilous sea voyages to migrate from the island,’ it said in a statement. 

The island nation is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence from the British in 1948, with some opting to flee from the food, fuel and medicine shortages plaguing the country. 

These shortages, coupled with record inflation and lengthy blackouts, have brought severe hardships to Sri Lankans. 

The nation is nearly bankrupt and has suspended repayment of about $7 billion in foreign loans due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026.

The country’s total foreign debt is $51 billion.

Violence erupted on the streets last month when hundreds of protesters clashed with police, amid anger over government mismanagement.

The mishandling and pandemic woes caused a severe shortage of foreign currency in the country, which is usually used to buy essential imports like fuel.