The Immigration Minister will not confirm whether the Australian Government knows of an asylum seeker boat travelling toward Christmas Island.

A man who claims to be an asylum seeker on board a boat with 152 other people told the ABC's Saturday AM program that the vessel was in trouble about 250 kilometres off Christmas Island.

The man, whose first name is Duke, said the group are mostly Tamils from Sri Lanka, who left from India two weeks ago.

Duke said the group is determined to make it to Australia to seek asylum.

"[There are] 32 [women] and we have 37 children, 253 kilometres ... from Christmas Island," he said this morning.

"We are refugees. We come from Sri Lanka – we stayed in India and we are unable to live there. That's why we are coming to Australia."

The man said the vessel was being buffeted by wild weather and needed assistance.

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"It's heavily raining also. We didn't get help anywhere. The wind is blowing in high speed, and [there are] huge waves," he said.

"The children and infants are also in the boat ... We can see some boats lights, maybe fishing boats."

AM contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for comment on reports of the stricken vessel but was referred to Customs.

It is understood AMSA is aware of the vessel.

Fairfax Media reported it had spoken to two people claiming to be on the boat, including a woman identifying as Tamil.

She said the vessel departed southern India on June 13 and made contact with marine rescue authorities on Thursday night.

Government ready to deal with border threats: Morrison

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not confirm whether Australian authorities were aware of the boat.

"It is our standard practice, as you know under Operation Sovereign Borders, to report on any significant event regarding maritime operations at sea, particularly where there is safety of life at sea issues associated," he said.

"I'm advised that I have no such reports to provide ... if there was a significant event happening then I'd be reporting on it."

Mr Morrison did not confirm reports the boat was from India, but said the Government was "always ready to deal with any possible threat that presents at our borders".

Opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles said the Minister's response was not good enough.

"This is a minister who has a woeful track record when it comes to transparency," he said.

"Today, we've seen that reach new lows when this minister refused to even confirm the existence of an asylum seeker vessel because it's inconvenient to his political scoreboard."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was asked about the reports of the boat last night but declined to provide any details.

"We will be doing what we normally do in respect of Operation Sovereign Borders," he said.

In March, the Government acknowledged it had turned asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia.

Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government cannot turn the boat around and must help the asylum seekers get to shore safely.

"The people on board are saying they've come from India," she said.

"We can't see how the Government can push the boat around.

"If the Prime Minister is considering creating a new diplomatic row with India then he needs to be very clear about that with the Australian people."