For the first time in nearly four years, a group of migrants was illegally captured while trying to arrive on the Australian mainland. The migrants survived a shipwreck and several days in crocodile-infested waters.
17 migrants aboard the boat who were found in the area near the mangrove swamps of Far North Queensland, two days after the ship ran aground.
Once all migrants were taken into custody, the government said the group would be deported to Christmas Island, an Australian territory about 1.000 miles from the closest point in mainland Australia, where they would be detained with the status of immigrants.
The Department of Home Affairs in a statement said "under Australia's strict border protection policies, anyone traveling to Australia illegally by boat is not allowed to stay in Australia and will therefore be tried on Christmas Island."
It is rare for migrants to reach mainland Australia by sea. The country has strict and controversial rules prohibiting such travel. Since 2013, migrants captured in Australian territorial waters have been subject to deportation or detention in offshore facilities on the islands of Nauru and Manus, Papua New Guinea.
But the government also maintains a similar facility on Christmas Island, where there were more than 200 migrants in June. Unlike Nauru and Manus, Christmas Island is an Australian territory, and inmates are entitled to some of the protections afforded by Australian law.
About 1.600 asylum seekers remain on Nauru and Manus, according to the latest report by Human Rights Watch.
The government confirms that its zero tolerance policy towards migrants making the sea voyage is in place to discourage human trafficking and dangerous journeys. Opponents argue, however, that the rules are discriminatory and that they violate the rights of migrants.
The trip to Christmas Island will extend an already long and dangerous journey for the 17 Vietnamese citizens who fled the stranded ship.
Justin Ward, a fisherman from Wonga Beach, said he had found two migrants Sunday afternoon on a mangrove dock while traveling from Snapper Island.
"We helped them get on the boat," Ward said in an NYT interview.
"I felt very sorry for them - I would have loved to take them home and give them a meal and a shower if possible, and show them Australian hospitality before they were sent back," he said.
Peter Dutton, the home affairs minister, said: “I want to confirm that Australia has received the first person smuggling ship after 1.400 days. People smugglers need to hear this government's message very, very clearly: they won't be able to put people on boats to get to Australia. "
Having the boat pierced the security vests of border authorities was a "failure," Dutton said, adding that since 2014 the government has stopped 33 boats and stopped more than 70 people smuggling operations.
A boat carrying six Chinese citizens arrived in 2017 on the island of Saibai, an Australian-controlled territory that is closest to Papua New Guinea.