Further investigations into PNG slave ship

Transcript

A ship detained in Papua New Guinea for its alleged role in a human trafficking ring has been escorted to Port Moresby for further investigation.

At least eight men are in the process of being repatriated to Myanmar and Cambodia after they were found to have been kept in slave-like conditions on board the Blissful Reefer.

The International Organisation for Migration says the ship is part of a wider trafficking operation in South East Asia, with Indonesian authorities also liberating hundreds of exploited workers.

The IOM's chief of mission in PNG, George Gigauri, says a full investigation into the Blissful Reefer is now underway.

GEORGE GIGAURI: The latest developments on that is that the Blissful Reefer was taken into government custody in Daru and escorted with a Navy patrol boat to Port Moresby. It arrived in Port Moresby yesterday evening and currently law enforcement authorities and IOM are conducting interviews with the 19 crew that were on board -- the second group, if you like.

JAMIE TAHANA: OK so you still haven't ascertained the condition of those 19 other crew members?

GG: Well, the only thing we've ascertained from the superficial screening is that physically they look OK, but in terms of their status, documents etcetera, that's being ascertained today.

JT: Those eight others who were found to have been exploited, they're being repatriated now are they?

GG: We are in the process of repatriating them. There are still a number of formalities that have to be taken care of including temporary travel documents and of course the government has to get some information from them as well, but the process of their repatriation has started, yes.

JT: And so what happens to the Blissful Reefer now that it is in government custody in Port Moresby?

GG: Well the government is conducting an investigation and depending on the outcome of that investigation the fate of the ship will be determined.

JT: And this all stems from a similar incident in Indonesia where hundreds of slave fishermen were liberated. Is there some kind of cross-border investigation going on?

GG: Well that's a question for the PNG government, but to my knowledge there is international cooperation ongoing, yes.

JT: The Blissful Reefer was detained, but there was also a search around the strait south of Papua New Guinea for other ships believed to be operating under similar means. How is the search for these vessels going?

GG: To my knowledge, the surveillance of the 'Dog Leg' area -- which is PNG territorial waters -- is complete right now and if there were vessels previously they have left that area and, you know, given the dynamic nature of the developments and the rescue operation it's quite possible that they could have easily gone back into Indonesian waters or gone into neutral waters. But the fact remains that there are still boats out there with presumed victims of trafficking on board, I'll definitely say that.

JT: This syndicate that was in PNG, there's still a lot that's not known about it is there? Largely Cambodian and Myanmarese workers, it originates from Thailand. Do we know any more about this syndicate that has been exploiting these people?

GG: Well that's being investigated now and I hope to have more information on this as Indonesian authorities and PNG authorities go more into their investigations. But of course, IOM are not part of law enforcement investigations so we are not privy to all of the data that comes out of that.