Suspected Irregular Entry Vessel

"SIEV" redirects here. For other uses, see Siev.

Suspected Irregular Entry Vessel (SIEV) was the operational term used by the Australian Defence Force and Australian Coastwatch for maritime vessels that appeared to be attempting to reach Australia clandestinely.

The legal context was of vessels that were entering Australian waters without authorisation.[1] Previously the term 'Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel' was used.[2][3] These boats are almost exclusively carrying asylum seekers who have departed from Indonesia on the final leg of a journey which started in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka after paying "people smugglers".[4] During Operation Relex, 12 SIEVs were intercepted. Four were forced back to Indonesia, and three sank.

SIEVs were given numerical designations. The vessel involved in the children overboard affair was the SIEV-4. The vessel that sank in 2001, killing 353 asylum seekers (mostly women and children) was designated by the press as SIEV X (a temporary operational term used by Coastwatch prior to designation, the SIEV-X often referred to in the press was reported not to have been detected prior to sinking).

  1. ^ "Reference Material/6.3 Abbreviations". Annual Report 2008-09. Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Retrieved 6 September 2013. 'SIEV: Suspect Irregular Entrant Vessel'
  2. ^ "Reference Information/ Glossary and Acronyms". Annual Report 2007-08. Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. ISSN 0818-2051. Retrieved 6 September 2013. SIEV: Suspect Illegal Entrant Vessel
  3. ^ McPhedran, Ian (19 August 2013). "Seaman Matt Keogh's bravery aboard the ill-fated SIEV 36 chronicled in Too Bold To Die". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  4. ^ Skelton, Russell (29 January 2011). "People smugglers operate as 'open secret'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 September 2013.