On 26 August 2001, a small Indonesian vessel, dangerously overloaded, was in imminent danger of sinking in the Indian Ocean. It was observed by the planes of Australian Coast watch. They requested a Norwegian container ship heading for Singapore, the M.V. Tampa, to go to its aid, as it was a vessel in distress. The Tampa did so. Its crew rescued 433 men, women and children from the vessel and transferred them to the Tampa. The Indonesian boat was abandoned and shortly afterwards sank.
"Shipwrecks, asylum seekers, and the rule of law: The Tampa case,"
The National Legal Eagle:
2, Article 2.
Available at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/nle/vol7/iss2/2