Aug 01, Colombo: Canadian authorities are preparing to handle any situation that may be arising from the arrival of a migrant ship carrying Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Vancouver island some time in the second week of August.

The Canadian Defence Ministry says it is prepared to intercept the ship, reportedly carrying about 200 suspected asylum seekers including women and children from Sri Lanka. The authorities expect the ship, the second in eight months, to arrive some time between August 8th and 20th at the British Columbia's coast.

"We are watching very closely. We are preparing for any inevitability and we are working closely with the international community, most notably with the United States of America," Canada's Defence Minister Peter MacKay told Canadian media.

Sri Lankan media earlier reported that the Thai ship MV Sun Sea is approaching Canada with more than 200 Sri Lankan migrants believed to be Tamil Tigers aboard.

According to reports the ship is captained by a man named Vinod, a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist group banned in Canada.

"We'll have ships in Canadian waters as they approach, and then an assessment will be done with information we currently hold and anything we'll be able to garner from direct contact," the Defence Minister said.

Last October when Ocean Lady with 76 Sri Lankans, all males, arrived, Canada dispatched HMCS Regina to escort the ship, and took the migrants into custody. All migrants have now been released but their asylum claims are still being processed.