Ship Suspected of Smuggling Immigrants Seized : High seas: Taiwanese fishing vessel with 121 people aboard is intercepted by Coast Guard off the coast of Mexico.

The Coast Guard found 121 people on a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized in the Pacific off Mexico after shadowing it for days as a suspected immigrant smuggler, authorities said Sunday.

The boarding party found 10 women, 101 men and 10 crewmen aboard the 168-foot Jin Yinn No. 1, and all appeared to be healthy, according to a statement issued from the Coast Guard district headquarters in Long Beach.

The vessel was apparently being escorted by Coast Guard cutters to Mexican waters, as was done in a similar case last summer, but U.S. authorities would not confirm the destination.

The Coast Guard referred queries to the State Department, but a duty officer in Washington said there would be no information available until today.

The West Coast has experienced a flurry of attempts to land undocumented Chinese from oceangoing vessels. There have been similar incidents on the East Coast, including a grounding off New York in which eight immigrants died.

The Jin Yinn No. 1 was spotted April 9 by a Coast Guard aircraft 400 miles southwest of San Diego. It was trailed for five days before being boarded about 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Law enforcement teams from the cutters Sherman and Active boarded it about 890 miles southwest of San Diego, the Coast Guard statement said, adding that the Jin Yinn No. 1 was being “escorted eastward to shorten the logistic trail.”

Although that direction from the point of seizure indicated the vessel was being taken to Mexico, Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer John Hollis said he could not confirm that, or say which country all those aboard were from.

“We had permission from Taiwan authorities to board and take control of the vessel, which is what we’ve done,” Hollis said.

The Jin Yinn No. 1 had a 10-day supply of food when it was boarded, authorities said.

Last July, the Coast Guard intercepted more than 650 would-be immigrants from China on three boats floating in international waters off Mexico. After 13 days in limbo, the boats were allowed to dock in Baja California, Mexico.

Two people on the boat were granted requests to seek asylum in the United States but the rest were deported from Mexico to China.

The United States has tried to keep smuggled immigrants from landing in this country because asylum-seekers can stay for years while their requests are resolved. Mexico, however, can repatriate immigrants immediately.