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Dozens of would-be migrants were towed into a Victoria port Saturday after a large-scale, two-day military and police operation kicked into gear following a tip that the vessel had sailed unannounced into Canadian waters.

In all, 76 men were found on the ship and were believed to be in good health, considering the voyage they had just undertaken, Rob Johnston, of the Canada Border Services Agency, said at a news conference.

Their vessel, the "Ocean Lady," was also described as being in decent condition.

"However, even though we're satisfied, we are making arrangements for medical examinations as we process them through," Mr. Johnston said.

Mr. Johnston said the agency will deal with refugee claims if any are made by the passengers.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said there were preliminary indications the ship originated in Sri Lanka, though he stressed that information had not been confirmed and authorities at the news conference couldn't say where the men are from.

"Obviously they were arriving in an unconventional fashion," Mr. Van Loan said Saturday evening. "Our first concern here is obviously humanitarian. Our next concern, obviously, is insuring that Canada's laws are respected."

In an interview on Sunday with CTV's Question Period, Defence Minister Peter MacKay declined to characterize it as a smuggling operation.

He said a forensic examination of the "Ocean Lady" is ongoing and interviews must be completed with the ship's crew and the 70 other men who were on board.

Mr. MacKay also said Canada was not at risk and added the navy and RCMP responded brilliantly.

The RCMP did not identify the country of origin of the passengers or crew aboard the ship at a brief news conference held just after 6 p.m. PT Saturday in the shadow of the seized vessel.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al MacIntyre said officials are awaiting help from experts to determine their language so they can properly communicate with those aboard.

Asked whether there were children on board, Comm. MacIntyre declined to directly answer, noting there were various ages and investigators are trying to catalogue them all.

On Friday afternoon, the naval vessel HMCS Regina approached the Ocean Lady in waters near Port Renfrew and an armed emergency response team boarded it and took control.

No shots were fired and there were no injuries.

The people on board the vessel told Canadian officials they wanted to go to Canada. They are now detained - authorities wouldn't say where - and are being processed under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

As the officials spoke, the Ocean Lady was moored to a pier about 10 metres away, shrouded in fog.

Pictures released by the RCMP of the ship appear to show people wearing civilian clothes and waving to a helicopter overhead. Some are shirtless.

Ten years ago, four ships - some of them rusting and barely seaworthy - were seized along the northern coasts of Vancouver Island and their occupants detained.

More than 400 people, including women and children, were on the boats, all of them from Fujian province in China.

As the people kept coming in boat after boat in July and August of 1999, hasty moves were made to turn a large gymnasium complex at Victoria's CFB Esquimalt into a mass detention facility.

Some migrants, suspected to be the so-called "snakeheads" or human smugglers in charge of the operation, were sent to Vancouver and Victoria jails. The migrants paid thousands of dollars to the smugglers for passage into Canada.

More than 50 children and teens were sent to B.C. government group homes.

Authorities believe at least two other ships snuck into B.C. waters that year and successfully delivered their cargo before being sunk.

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