Boat carrying Chinese nationals said to have arrived in NT

If confirmed, it would be the latest in a growing line of foreign vessels to make it to the Australian mainland.

A boat is intercepted near Christmas Island in 2019.

Authorities are ­investigating the arrival of a boat carrying multiple Chinese nationals on a remote stretch of Northern Territory coastline.

Multiple sources on the ground in the NT had received on Thursday similar accounts of a vessel making landfall near Maningrida in West Arnhem Land. If confirmed, it would be the latest in a growing line of boats to make it to the Australian ­mainland.

According to one source, Chinese nationals called triple-0 upon their arrival and asked for police assistance. Road closures due to flooding in the area are said to have slowed the response.

An Australian Border Force spokeswoman said the ABF did not comment on or confirm operational matters.

The reports will add to growing concerns about the inflow of foreign vessels – mostly illegal fishing boats, but increasingly also people-smuggling ventures – making it to the mainland.

Last week, the NT government issued a statement calling for a stronger federal response to the rising number of illegal vessels in the region.

Members of the remote community of Gunbalanya in western Arnhem Land late last month found nine foreign nationals, all carrying Chinese passports, walking on a road towards the community.

And less than a month ago, the Northern Land Council – which represents traditional owner communities across the top half of the NT – said Indigenous rangers had helped four foreign men they found at Croker Island. The NLC said the four told rangers they had paid $US6000 ($9317) to be brought to Australia.

In May, five men believed to be from West Africa were found at Saibai Island, in the far-northern reaches of the Torres Strait.

The number of people-smuggling vessels making it to Australia has been vastly outnumbered by illegal foreign fishing vessels in Australian waters.

The influx has sparked frustration and fear over their impact on marine habitats and their risk to biosecurity.

NT Fisheries Minister Gerard Maley has raised his concerns about the influx ­directly with Australian Border Force and Minister for northern Australia Madeleine King, and has written to federal Labor MPs from the NT urging them to push for a more robust response from the Albanese government. “I have also asked Border Force to deploy additional ­resources to monitor NT waters, expand surveillance technology and intelligence sharing, improve communication with NT authorities, and focus on prosecuting and deterring illegal activities,” he said.

In February, more than 40 men from at least two vessels made it to the remote Kimberley coast.