Posted on 11/09/2006 1:51:15 AM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India has detained an empty North Korean cargo ship bound for Iran after it strayed into Indian waters, baffling coast guard officials and police about the purpose of its voyage."MV Omrani-II" developed a snag and entered Indian waters on Oct. 29 and was towed to the Mumbai Port where the crew was being questioned by Indian intelligence and customs officials.
"The crew has not been able to explain why they were sailing an empty vessel to Iran," a senior coast guard official told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
However a senior official at the Directorate General of Shipping said: "They have told us that because it is a new ship they were testing it. But it is strange that they should need to sail as far as Iran."
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(Excerpt) Read more at in.today.reuters.com ...
Mini-Me's version of Fed Ex?
Somethings fishy here....
They were just there to pick up some NUKES that Iran had promised them.
Were they transporting air? Post holes?
Maybe some prop-wash and flight line for the Iranian Air Force.
I hope they go over that ship with a fine-toothed comb and a Geiger counter.
Oh, I believe it's a test....just not on that ship. More likely, it's a proverbial dry run to see what our response would be.
Also, it doesn't require any space in the hold to transport plutonium, which the NKs have as a byproduct of their reactor. They could be smuggling it anywhere on that ship. As another poster recommended, a radioactive sweep would be a wise thing to do.
Theoretically, they could also be picking up, instead of dropping off. Perhaps the NK fizzle test required a new supply of nuclear material in the form of enriched uranium. They could also be comparing notes, since the Taepo Dong and Shahab are both based on Scud technology.
Good clues. I'm so tired I can't think but I see this is not an innocent early winter cruise to Iran and back. Thanks
They could have discharged their cargo upon being sighted ... but if the cargo was plutonium, there might still be radioactivity in the ship ... and an Indian or US submarine might troll the waters where the ship was sighted on the possibility that any discharged cargo could be discovered.
I'm almost certain we have some sort of vessel/vessels tracking this ship along with air/satellite surveillance.
The US Navy did dispatch a few of Iran's to King Neptune years ago.
I'll guess they were picking up the N. Koreans who have been working (basically as slaves) digging the tunnels in Iran.
And maybe picking up some pistachio nuts.
Picking up centrifuges.
Maybe the question should be, where was it sailing and with what cargo, after Iran?
Thank you for the excellent and informative link.
I felt the explosion and saw the (orange-brown) mushroom cloud from seven miles away out the windows of my fourth-grade schoolroom in Webster, Texas.
We should have a test sinking or two.
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