IN a dramatic escalation of the ‘stop the boats’ campaign Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka are being ferried back to where they came from by an Australian Customs ship.

According to well-placed sources more than 150 Tamils, including up to 37 children, have been transferred to the ACV Ocean Protector for the long voyage back to Sri Lanka where the Sri Lankan government will take them back under an earlier agreement.

It is not clear whether the ship, operating under Operation Sovereign Borders, will steam all the way to a Sri Lankan port or will be met at sea by a Sri Lankan Navy vessel so that the boat people can be transferred.

A Sri Lankan military spokesman said the Sri Lankan navy was not involved.

“There is no plan for the Sri Lankan Navy to take over asylum seekers bound for Australia from [the] Australian Navy,” he said.

The 7000-tonne, 105-metre-long Ocean Protector has a maximum range of 43,000km and can remain at sea for more than 120 days.

She carries a crew of 22 and up to 50 Customs officers and can accommodate up to 150 passengers in ‘austere’ accommodation.

Meanwhile 50 asylum seekers whose Indonesian fishing boat was intercepted north of Christmas Island on Monday have been towed back to Indonesian waters in Australian taxpayer funded life boats behind the 2200-tonne Customs Vessel and ocean going trimaran RV Triton.

Hundreds of people have been removed from Australian waters in expensive lifeboats since Operation Sovereign Borders began nine months ago.

The Abbott Government yesterday again refused to confirm any details of the latest secret ‘on water’ operation to prevent any asylum seekers from setting foot on Australian territory.