SIEV-X stands for Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel X (the X means “unknown”). It is the name, coined by Tony Kevin , commonly used to refer to a dilapidated Indonesian fishing boat that was en-route to Christmas Island carrying over 400 asylum seekers. It sank in October 2001, killing 353 people, mostly women and children. 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.
Background
The SIEV-X incident occurred during the 2001 Australian Federal election campaign. The Tampa affair had focused national attention on the issue of border protection and boat people. Prime Minister John Howard had made plain his policy of preventing asylum seeker boats from landing in Australia, and ideally preventing them from leaving Indonesia.
Sinking
On 18th October, 2001, a small, unnamed 19.5m by 4m fishing boat departed Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, with 421 passengers onboard. On the 19th the boat sank in international waters, within Indonesia's zone of search and rescue responsibility. 146 children, 142 women and 65 men died. On the 20th 44 survivors were rescued by an Indonesian fishing boat, the Indah Jaya Makmur.
Survivors reported that some passengers refused to board when they saw the state of the boat, but were forced by Indonesian police.
Senate Select Committee
On 20th February, 2002, the Senate Select Committee inquiring into ‘A Certain Maritime Incident’ met for the first time. It’s primary task was to investigate the children overboard affair, however its terms of reference also included the job of 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 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.
Unresolved
There are many unanswered questions regarding the SIEV-X tragedy, some of which are chronicled at the website http://www.sievx.com, and in Tony Kevin’s book “Certain Maritime Incident: The Sinking of SIEV X”, published in August 2004. Most controversial is the suggestion that the Australian governments policy of “upstream disruption” of asylum seekers could extend as far as the sabotage of people smuggling boats.
External Links
SIEVX.com
Select Committee for an inquiry into a certain maritime incident
Criticisms of Tony Kevin's book.
