Tampa captain to meet refugees today

11.00am

The sea captain who rescued asylum seekers from a sinking boat between Indonesia and Australia last year said today he would do it all again, despite the ensuing controversy.

Captain Arne Rinnan is in Auckland on his final voyage aboard the Norwegian container ship Tampa. The 62-year-old skipper is about to retire.

Some of the families he rescued eight months ago now live in the city and will visit him aboard Tampa today.

The Australian government refused to let Tampa dock in Australia and its special forces briefly seized the ship before moving the 433 people - mainly Afghans - onto a warship.

They were taken to the central Pacific island of Nauru from where 131 were moved to New Zealand.

While Australia keeps its asylum seekers locked up in controversial camps, New Zealand has now granted all but one of the Tampa boat people refugee status and they live in the community.

Capt Rinnan said today it was not for him to comment on how the Australian government handled the situation, except to say he was "disappointed".

He told National Radio he did not regret his actions and that they did not merit hero status.

"I would be doing exactly the same thing again.

"This is the law at sea -- to assist or rescue people in distress and that's what we were doing."

He said it was "very hard to tell" what could be learned from the situation, "but a human life is a human life, it doesn't matter what kind of shape and colour and religion".

Among those planning to meet Rinnan today would be several families and 35 boys who left Afghanistan without their parents.

The refugees planned to give him a gift of greenstone.

The shipping company, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, has forbidden the families from bringing cameras to the meeting and media have been excluded.

- NZPA