Posted on 04/20/2003 8:41:58 AM PDT by HuntsvilleTxVeteran
Troops seize 'heroin' ship April 21, 2003
SAS troops stormed a suspected drug-running freighter off Newcastle yesterday as a four-day ocean chase ended in high drama.
The MV Pong Su is now berthed at Garden Island in Sydney, where further investigations will be carried out.
The elite soldiers boarded the Korean ship Pong Su from a helicopter after navy frigate HMAS Stuart forced it to stop.
More troops in inflatables boarded the 4000-tonne vessel, securing the bridge without resistance and arresting 30 crew allegedly involved in an $80million heroin ring.
The operation was conducted in 9m seas and 35knot winds at first light, after Pong Su's skipper refused repeated requests to stop.
It had been pursued for four days after reports it was used to smuggle 50kg of high-grade heroin with a street value of $80 million.
Federal Police called it the "mother ship" from which the heroin was offloaded at a Victorian beach on Wednesday.
Four men were later arrested - two of them in possession of heroin.
In a grim twist, the body of a Pong Su crewman was found wrapped in seaweed near the beach. An autopsy revealed he had drowned.
"We believe the vessel seized this morning was the mother ship in which the heroin was brought into Australian waters," Australian Federal Police east coast general manager Tony Negus said last night.
"The seizure of the vessel and arrest of its captain and 29 crew represents a significant disruption to an organised narcotics syndicate," he said.
Yesterday's operation occurred about 25 nautical miles off Port Stephens.
For four days, the captain had said engine problems prevented him stopping and that he was heading to Papua New Guinea.
Two officers were injured in the chase after their NSW Police launch twice overturned in huge seas off Eden.
Guided missile frigate HMAS Stuart was called into action on Friday, shadowing the Pong Su for 24 hours after reaching it about 4am on Saturday, 80 nautical miles due east of Sydney.
At 6am yesterday, the Stuart intercepted the freighter after warning it to stop and providing a "demonstration of force".
"At first light we came over the horizon at 25 knots, using our presence as a warship with commitment and purpose," HMAS Stuart's commanding officer David Greaves said.
The ship changed course to due east before again heading north as police followed in hot pursuit.
But the skipper willingly followed orders when the warship appeared.
"You put out a warship with a five-inch gun on board and people do show compliance," Rear Admiral Raydon Gates said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
The heck with that! 9 foot seas are keeping me on land today. Oh well, off to soak some worms in the harbor, tides about to change.
Damn. I wish I had a job where I could say something cool like that.
HERE is where I get my local info. The boat I was going to go out on is no frigate or 4000-tonne'r, only 60' for blackfish. 9 footers, nevermind 19.8' keeps her in port.
9 meters = 29.5 feet
That's more than enough to keep me off the water....
Semper Fi
9 foot does seem more likely 25 miles out in 35 KT winds. That would be right on target for a East to North-East wind here in the NY Bight, but I can't say for the waters this took place in.
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