Ship Suspected of Carrying Immigrants Seized : Smuggling: Taiwanese fishing vessel with 121 people aboard is intercepted by Coast Guard off the coast of Mexico. Conditions aboard are better than in previous cases.

A suspected Taiwanese smuggling vessel with 121 people aboard was being escorted toward land by the U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday--a day after the U.S. officials seized the fishing ship to inspect it, officials said.

Although officials would not say where the Jin Yinn No. 1 is heading, two Coast Guard cutters are apparently escorting the ship toward the Mexican coast, as was done in a similar case last year involving hundreds of undocumented Chinese immigrants aboard three vessels.

The Coast Guard had tracked the 168-foot Jin Yinn for about a week after it was spotted as close as 240 miles southwest of San Diego. When the Jin Yinn saw Coast Guard vessels monitoring it, the Taiwanese ship “made a left turn” and headed back out to sea, said Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer John Hollis.

On Saturday, about 890 miles southwest of San Diego, Coast Guard law enforcement teams and U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service interpreters boarded the ship and found 10 women, 101 men and 10 crew members aboard, all of whom appeared healthy, Hollis said. Officials also found a 10-day supply of food.

“The word we get is that conditions aboard the vessel are much better than normally found on these ships,” Hollis said. “It’s clean. There’s enough food.”

The Taiwanese government gave its permission for the boarding of the Jin Yinn, Hollis said.

Last July, the Coast Guard intercepted more than 650 undocumented Chinese on three ships off the coast of Baja. The boats were allowed to dock in Mexico after some diplomatic discussions, and all aboard were deported to China except two, who were granted asylum in the United States.

The U.S. government has been cracking down on political asylum seekers who, regardless of the merits of their claims, can stay in the U.S. for years while their cases are being settled. But Mexico can repatriate undocumented immigrants immediately.

Reuter news agency quoted State Department spokeswoman Julie Reside as saying, “Our intention is to return those aboard the vessel to their country of origin as quickly as possible,” as “the best means of discouraging future attempts to smuggle illegal aliens into the United States.”

Reside would not say whether the ship was bound for a U.S. or Mexican port, according to Reuter.

The Jin Yinn was spotted by a Coast Guard aircraft on April 9, southwest of San Diego. The Taiwanese vessel was trailed for five days before two Coast Guard cutters approached. When the Jin Yinn’s crew spotted the cutters, it started to flee.

The vessel faltered and stopped when an engine ran out of oil, Hollis said. The Coast Guard provided some oil and the vessel was able to get underway under escort.