Captain refuses to leave Australia waters

The captain of a ship carrying 438 Afghan refugees is refusing to leave Australia's territorial waters.

The Norwegian owners of the Tampa say doctors have not checked the refugees properly.

Norway has alerted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Red Cross and the International Maritime Organisation.

Hans Bangsmoen, spokesman for Wilhelm Wilhelmsen shipping line, said: "There are children with diarrhoea, pregnant women. The captain's answer is a crystal clear 'no'.

"They (the doctors) did a quick, perfunctory survey, not an examination."

UNHCR officials are asking for a meeting with Australian representatives in Geneva to find a solution.

Australia's ambassador to Norway, Malcolm Leader, has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Oslo.

He says the ship violated international law by breaching Australian international waters after being ordered not to do so.

Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg gave full support to the captain.

"One cannot force a ship which the captain says is unseaworthy to sail into international waters," he said.