They said they were on the back deck of their anchored boat, the MV Midas, when a wall of water smashed them into a neighbouring vessel, triggering a fire that quickly ripped through their cabin.
What began as a hurried political response to the arrival of one boat, the MV Tampa, on Australia's northern horizon has metamorphosed over a decade and a half into a standing permanent policy, with the support of both the country's major political parties.
We are bobbing about, an hour upriver from our expedition boat, the MV Aqua, at the rippling juncture of the Ucayali and the tea-dark Dorado River, a light rain pocking the water.
The boat, the Nigerian-registered MV Etireno, had left Cotonou, Benin's capital, on March 30th and had been turned away by Cameroon and Gabon.
The flame, which is one of four national flames from around the UK, was carried on the MV Freedom boat which has been adapted for use by disabled people.
The left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in power since June, has attempted to welcome the new arrivals — accepting migrant rescue boats such as the MV Aquarius after Italy rejected them.
After the fall of Kabul in 2001, in a now notorious incident, the MV Mecca, a boat loaded with 150 Taliban and al-Qaida cadres, was said by Bangladeshi intelligence sources to have anchored off the country's Chittagong port, where small boats ferried them ashore.
This incident saw 438 asylum seekers rescued from a sinking fishing boat by the Norwegian ship MV Tampa.
From Portree harbour, various operators (including Brigadoon and MV Stardust) run wildlife boat trips for visitors hoping to glimpse sea eagles and other sea birds, as well as otters, seals, porpoises and other wildlife.
