Tamil migrant ship heading for B.C.

Canada is watching out for a ship reported to be carrying illegal Tamil migrants after a Sri Lankan newspaper warned the vessel could be headed for British Columbia.

The Colombo Sunday Observer reported a Thai Cargo ship — the MV Sun Sea — is sailing for Canada with 200 migrants on board, including members of the Tamil Tigers, the military arm of the Tamil separatist movement.

Foreign affairs spokesman Alain Cacchione said the government is aware of reports suggesting the ship has left South East Asian waters and may be headed for Canada.

The Observer said the ship, previously known as the Harin Panich 19, was originally headed for Australia.

The paper said the vessel was last spotted in May in the Gulf of Thailand where its captain, a Tiger leader named Vinod, warned that several illegal migrants would "throw themselves overboard if anyone tried to board his ship."

Last October, a ship carrying 76 Sri Lankan migrants was intercepted in Canadian waters after crossing the Pacific from Sri Lanka.

The group on board the Ocean Lady claimed to be fleeing persecution after the country's bloody 26-year civil war.

But there are concerns that some of the migrants may have links to the Tamil Tigers, which Canada has banned as a terrorist organization.

The Sri Lankan army crushed the Tamil rebellion last May and the Canadian Tamil Congress said the migrants may have embarked on their risky ocean journey because Tamils are still persecuted and it's nearly impossible for them to come to Canada legally.