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Australian Customs Patrol - Source: Reuters -
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An Australian naval vessel has intercepted a boat carrying 56 suspected asylum seekers and two crew off Australia's northwest coast.
The vessel was intercepted by HMAS Bathurst at about 3.35pm (AEDT) on Monday about 100 nautical miles northwest of Derby.
It is the 46th asylum seeker boat intercepted in Australian waters this year and the second in as many days.
The group will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks and their reasons for travel will be established.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said the latest arrivals would put further pressure on already stretched detention facilities.
"Now is the time for Prime Minister Rudd to acknowledge his role in opening the floodgates for this flotilla of smuggler boats making their way to the new life their clients anticipate in Australia," she said.
Stone said Australia's immigration reputation was "in tatters".
"The Australian government has lost control of who comes into this country and instead is captured by the actions of criminal syndicates," she said.
