An Australian navy ship picked up 85 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were traveling by boat towards a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, the government said Thursday.The asylum seekers, all men, were invited on to the fuel tanker 80 kilometers (50 miles) off Christmas Island on Tuesday because their boat was not seaworthy, Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said in a statement.

A border patrol plane had tracked the boat since Monday.

The government did not explain why it did not confirm the interception until Thursday despite media inquiries Wednesday. The minister's office would not say where the men were to be taken.

The boat was carrying the largest number of asylum seekers to attempt to reach Australia since 2001, when the government introduced a policy of refusing to allow boat arrivals to reach the Australian mainland.

Courtesy: IHT