A Russian family who set sail for Bermuda ? having been deported from Canada ? were forced to turn back last Saturday in the face of a virtually impenetrable snow storm.

The Bondarenkos ? Vitaly, Marina and their six-year-old son Vasily ? are orginally from Moscow but have been travelling around the world since 1991 on the 36-foot sailboat they call home.

Vitaly is a qualified engineer by trade, but has spent the last 13 years doing various odd jobs in ports across the globe in order to maintain the family?s basic way of life.

It was in attempting to obey a deportation order from the Government of Canada that they encountered high winds, large waves and a deluge of snow a few hours into their journey across the north Atlantic.

Despite trying to soldier on, a number of equipment failures ? including the breakdown of both electrical and manual water pumps ? forced them to abandon their voyage.

?We had no choice at that stage but to turn back,? Mr. Bondarenko was quoted as saying in The Halifax Chronicle-Herald newspaper on Tuesday.

It is understood the Bondarenkos have been living in Nova Scotia since late July.

Concerned about the dangers of sailing in the north Atlantic at this time of year, Mr. Bondarenko approached immigration authorities in Halifax last week asking for an extension to their temporary resident permits.

That application was rejected and a deadline of December 14 set for them to leave the country.

But the fate of the sea-faring Russian family is still far from certain, however, as senior Canadian politicians wrangle over how to proceed.

Halifax MP Alexa McDonough is calling on Immigration Minister Judy Sgro to extend their temporary resident permits, arguing that it would be ?completely untenable? to send the family back out into the open sea.

However, nobody from the Canadian Ministry of Immigration has been willing to comment on the case.

The Bondarenkos are currently still in Halifax awaiting a decision ? although it is understood they have been preparing for worst.

The Herald?s Michael Gorman, the journalist covering the story in Canada, told yesterday that Mr. Bondarenko has finished repairing his boat and is ready, if necessary, to set sail for Bermuda some time over the weekend.

To complicate the matter yet further however, Bermuda Assistant Immigration Officer Rozy Azhar said yesterday the family would not be allowed to set foot in Bermuda if they were not ?in possession of the required visa?.

Sources in Canada were unable to confirm whether the Bondarenkos have secured the necessary documentation.