The MV Sun Sea, carrying nearly 500 Tamil migrants, has pulled into harbour at the Canadian naval base at Esquimalt, B.C., under a military escort.
Two naval tugboats ferried the 59-metre Thai-owned cargo ship into the base on Vancouver Island shortly before 6:30 a.m. PT Friday.
Dozens of border services officers waited on shore to meet the ship, whose 490 passengers are all seeking refugee protection in Canada.
The officers and other officials donned surgical masks and gloves before boarding the ship, in light of reports there may be passengers with infectious diseases on board. Some reports indicate several passengers may be infected with tuberculosis.
Officials erected large tarps to hide passengers from the media, as four buses and several ambulances waited to transport the ship's passengers to nearby hospitals and prisons.
They are believed to be Tamils from Sri Lanka, who left their homeland in May aboard the MV Sun Sea.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stressed Thursday the migrants are not welcome and issued a warning:
"We want to send a very clear message that this type of activity specifically human trafficking and human smuggling [is] illegal, it's criminal and we will take the strongest steps possible in order to deter it."
Some of the migrants are believed to be members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been outlawed in Canada as a terrorist group since 2006.
Naval and RCMP officers boarded the ship on Thursday at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET, according to the Prime Minister's Office, in order to take control of it and steer it to Esquimalt.
Government sources told CBC News that the ship was first visually identified by military vessels at 2:30 p.m. ET and that the vessel entered Canadian territorial waters at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Toews said the best way to deal with migrant ships is to wait until they enter Canadian waters. "Intervening on the high seas brings certain legal obligations and a number of legal problems, and so it's better to intercept them, I'm advised, inside of Canadian territorial waters."
The passengers would be "processed according to their claims" and that if the claims were found to be invalid they would "not be treated as refugees," he said.
Human smuggling a 'criminal activity'
Many on board are believed to have paid up to $50,000 each for the trip.
Sri Lanka's high commissioner to Canada, Chitranganee Wagiswara, said that money would go toward to the Tamil Tigers and chided the federal government for not turning the ship away altogether.
"Human smuggling is a criminal activity," he said.
Calling human smuggling "despicable," "dangerous" and "irresponsible," Gary Anandasangaree, general counsel for the Canadian Tamil Congress also said the government should distinguish between the ship's passengers.
"We're not saying every single person on the boat should be accepted carte blanche," Anandasangaree said. "Every single person should be assessed on their own merits and in accordance with Canada's laws and our international obligations."
The migrants are expected to be transported aboard four buses from the port at Esquimalt to various destinations, including Victoria General Hospital and the Wilkinson Road Jail in Victoria. One bus is expected to be transported aboard an early-morning ferry to Vancouver to take women and children to the B.C. Women's Hospital and Health Centre.
Staff at Victoria General Hospital have reportedly been advised that they might have to treat a large number of sick people when the ship arrives. The hospital's old emergency wing, which was recently closed after a renovation, has reportedly been reopened to treat the incoming migrants. The hospital has also brought in extra personnel to help treat the passengers.
