An Australian court has granted an temporary injunction to block the government from forcing a Norwegian cargo ship carrying 433 asylum seekers out of Australian territorial waters for at least another day.
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Residents on Christmas Island protest over the refugee ship standoff
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The Federal Court entered the fray surrounding Australia's refusal to accept the ship when a civil liberties group started legal action to make the government take the asylum seekers ashore so they could lodge applications for refugee status.
The Victorian Council for Civil Liberties (VCCL) sought an injunction to block any attempt to move the Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, before it seeks a writ of habeas corpus to say the immigrants had been unlawfully detained.
Justice Anthony North, presiding over the Federal Court in Melbourne, granted an injunction preventing the government from moving the Tampa, secured by Australian troops, until 0415 GMT on Saturday.
The Tampais stranded in the Indian Ocean near the tiny Australian territory of Christmas Island with no single nation willing to take in all the mainly Afghani asylum seekers that it rescued from a sinking Indonesian boat five days ago.
Australia insists the ship is Indonesia's responsibility and has stood its ground against mounting international indignation, saying it has to defend itself against people smugglers bringing increasing numbers of illegal immigrants to its shores.
Earlier this week, crack Australian SAS troops boarded the Tampaafter its captain steamed close to Christmas Island, an Australian outpost 350 km (217 miles) south of Indonesia but 1,500 km (930 miles) northwest of the Australian mainland.
While flying in food, portable toilets and medical supplies, Australia has refused to let the freighter's passengers go to shore and has pledged to force the freighter back out to sea.
Indonesia, where the migrants embarked, has refused to take the asylum seekers and Norway, where the Tampais registered, has also rejected any responsibility.
The United Nations refugee agency is trying to get approval for an agreement to end the diplomatic stalemate which would mean taking the asylum seekers to Christmas Island for processing then placing them with various countries.