SIEV X
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SIEV X stands for Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel X. SIEV is the acronym used by the surveillance authority for any boat that has entered Australian waters without prior authorisation and the X is a designation where a tracking number has not or is yet to be assigned, in accordance with Australian Government orders.[1] It is also used by Tony Kevin,[2] to refer to a dilapidated Indonesian fishing boat that was en-route from Sumatra to Christmas Island carrying over 400 asylum seekers. It sank in international waters on 19 October 2001, just south of the Indonesian island of Java, killing 353 people. The tragedy was politically controversial in Australia, as it occurred during an election campaign at a time when asylum seekers and border protection were major issues.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Sinking
3 Senate Select Committee
4 SIEV X Memorial
5 Notes
6 See also
7 Further reading
8 External links


[edit] Background
The SIEV-X incident occurred during the 2001 Australian Federal election campaign. The Tampa affair had focused national media's attention on the issue of asylum seekers. Prime Minister John Howard claimed his policy would prevent people smuggling and stop the boats of asylum seekers from arriving in Australia. The Howard Government had issued instructions to the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to prevent any refugees from reaching Australia via boat. The AFP set about a campaign of disrupting organised people smugglers who operated with overcrowded and dangerous boats. The Royal Australian Navy began intercepting boats that entered Australian waters and transferring all people to Christmas Island

[edit] Sinking
On 18 October 2001, a small, unnamed 19.5m by 4m Indonesian fishing boat departed Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, with 421 passengers onboard. On the 19th, the boat sank during a storm in Indonesian waters about 70 km south of Java. The area was legally international waters but within both Indonesia's EEZ and Indonesia's internationally designated zone of search and rescue responsibility. It also fell inside a temporary Australian border protection surveillance area around the Australian external territory of Christmas Island (which is some 1700 km from mainland Australia). This latter designation was an internal planning and operational tool used by the Australian authorities to deter people smuggling. It had no legal validity and conferred no responsibility in international law. At the time, no Australian aerial reconnaissance flights were mounted because of storm weather, the nearest Australian vessel was hundreds of kilometres away, there was confusion about various boats, and it was thought this particular SIEV had probably returned to Indonesia.[citation needed]

Approximately 146 children, 142 women and 65 men died. On the 20th, 44 survivors were rescued by an Indonesian fishing boat, the Indah Jaya Makmur. A 45th survivor was rescued about twelve hours later by another boat, the Surya Terang.[3].

[edit] Senate Select Committee
On 20 February 2002, the Australian Senate Select Committee inquiring into ‘A Certain Maritime Incident’ met for the first time. Its primary task was to investigate the children overboard affair, however its terms of reference also included investigating “operational procedures observed by the Royal Australian Navy and by relevant Commonwealth agencies to ensure the safety of asylum seekers on vessels entering or attempting to enter Australian waters”.

The committee investigated the SIEV-X sinking, and concluded that "... it [is] extraordinary that a major human disaster could occur in the vicinity of a theatre of intensive Australian operations and remain undetected until three days after the event, without any concern being raised within intelligence and decision making circles." While no government department was found to be to blame for the tragedy, the Committee was surprised that there had been no internal investigations into any systemic problems which could have allowed the Australian government to prevent it from occurring.

[edit] SIEV X Memorial

the facts are those people smugglers responsible for this tragedy were jailed..the Aust govt did do something to stop these evil people from preying on desperate people...however someone saw fit to put a stop to that.and now its a no holds barred environment for people smugglers.

dont tell me any of you so called bleeding hearts are any more concerned about this  than anyone else...it was an accident waiting in the wings.. we are just bloody lucky there havent been a lot more,.

Infarction wrote on Dec 16^th, 2010 at 5:56am:



typical comment from the left..wish I had a dollar for everytime the left have dragged up Tampa.. but never mind.. whats the old saying about people who live in glass house.?????

my stance on this from the moment I heard about it was IT SHOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED...if this bloody do nothing govt had actually done something... these people smugglers would have been stopped long ago..

instead we have something like 6000 a year now..and this you call compassion...well done, smashed on the rocks..

I think it would be a good idea for the yanks and their cohorts to stop invading other countries for oil, then the people can live in their own lands. Who next? Iran? that's been on the cards for a while now, looks good for some oil. At least they'll have an excuse for going broke....fighting wars for the good of mankind.

While ever we have wars, we will have asylum seekers. We might even become asylum seekers in a few short years if we don't think seriously about letting go of America's apron strings.

Do we want to be smart and concentrate on making a good, safe country for ourselves, or do we want to hang out with the bully-boys and get dragged down with them?

Thanks Labor.
It has often been said that the removal of a working policy to install a failed policy was going to eventually cost lives one day.
And that day is here.
If Howards policy was left to stand, this would not have happened.

If you’re going to have policies which invite people in leaky boats to come here, then sooner or later this type of tragedy is going to happen.

viewpoint wrote on Dec 16^th, 2010 at 7:12am:




isnt anyone else amazed that this hasnt happened over and over again???

27 dead so far and they dont really know how many were on board, could be more than 100..ABC news

What you risk reveals what you value.
Jeanette Winterson

Freedom is worth the risk to these people.....treating them inhumanly as a deterrent is immoral and goes against the grain of Australian society were we promote a fair go for everyone.....Australia has NOTHING to be proud of......we should be ashamed of the way we treat genuine refugees….who are we to decide what someone else’s freedom is worth???

Howard lied when he claimed Siev X sunk in Indonesian waters......An Australian navy ship was the closest vessel to the sinking and the Howard government did nothing to prevent the tragedy despite knowing the vessel was in trouble......the truth is a lot different to the crap peddled by the right......Siev X was allowed to happen!!!