Greek Forces Find 680 Metric Tons of Explosives on Ship

yahoo.com ^

[Sub-Driver]

Greek Forces Find 680 Metric Tons of Explosives on Ship 48 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said on Sunday its special forces found 680 tonnes of explosives on board a Comoros flagged ship owned by a Marshall Islands registered company named Alpha Shipping.

Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry said it had transferred the vessel, which it identified as the Baltic Sky, to a western Greek commercial port for further checks after special forces boarded the ship and found the explosives.

"After acting on confirmed information, special forces checked the ship carrying 680 tonnes of explosives inside Greek territorial waters," the ministry statement said.

It said the Baltic Sky's seven crew consisted of five Ukrainian nationals including the captain and two Azeris.

"Now we need to check if the cargo is legal or if it was bound for any terrorism group," a merchant marine official told Reuters.

The government said the ship was bound for Africa but did not specify where.

"It looks certainly like a suspect ship. And it seems it was en route to Africa but we do not yet know exactly to where," government spokesman Telemachos Hytiris told Reuters.

Shipping sources said the Baltic Sky was reported to be coming out of the Black Sea and into the Mediterranean on June 2, and was heading toward the Tunisian port city of Gabes.

Hytiris said all international police and intelligence services have been notified and the cargo has been confiscated.

"This is a huge amount of explosives and a great success for Greek authorities," he said.

NATO (news - web sites) forces have been boarding ships in the eastern Mediterranean over the last few months. The Comoros flag is considered a flag of convenience.

The discovery comes amid heightened security after a series of bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, and a fresh terror warning in Kenya.

[cardinal4]

By tommorow this story will be buried.

[Destro]

"and two Azeris"

Bingo--al-Qaeda!

[Sub-Driver]

who knows the final where the final port is..........somebody paid for it.

[TN4Liberty]

Just for a reference point, that is 2/3 (0.68) of a kiloton. When people talk about small nukes, either as we might use them or as potential terrorist countries might use then, they need to realize that this massive amount of conventional explosives is only a fraction of the smallest of nukes.

[gaucho]

Just for a reference point, that is 2/3 (0.68) of a kiloton. When people talk about small nukes, either as we might use them or as potential terrorist countries might use then, they need to realize that this massive amount of conventional explosives is only a fraction of the smallest of nukes.

Only if it's TNT. If it's a higher yield explosive the ratio above wouldn't work.

[Lazamataz]

Greek Forces Find 680 Metric Tons of Explosives on Ship

Dammit people. That was mine. Give it back.

[tet68]

Even a the most diehard gun-nut or pyromaniac would say that is so much.

Well, really, it's not THAT much.
And it's probably low grade.
And you'd need detonators to set it off,
almost worthless as far as explosives go.

[Lazamataz]

By tommorow this story will be buried.

Using my contacts in the media and my power over world leaders, I will make sure of it.

[Sci Fi Guy]

680 tonnes of explosives

That is enough explosives to level a small-to-medium sized country.

I believe that shipping tonnage refers to occuppied space and not weight. So there may not be as many explosives as you think.

[tet68]

Besides, we are talking METRIC tons here.
Piddling amount, why there's probably that much in
my.........

Nevermind.

[tet68]

Lazamataz gestures hypnotically!

[eastforker]

Nope,a shipping manifest will show the weight.1,496,000 pounds is alot of explosives.

[Paul C. Jesup]

I believe that shipping tonnage refers to occuppied space and not weight. So there may not be as many explosives as you think.

Tonnage can mean many things, explosive power, actual weight or occuppied space.

[Gumption]

You can order anything on the internet these days.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Well if is low-grade, like TNT, all you need is one lunatic with a match.

[Lazamataz]

Lazamataz gestures hypnotically!

Stare into this pattern.

You are getting sleepy.

Now, bark like a chicken.

[tet68]

Tonight on Ebay, 680 tonnes of explosive from private seller.

[tet68]

Meow, meow, meow, cluck.

[Lazamataz]

Tonnage can mean many things, explosive power, actual weight or occuppied space.

I measure weight in "Jerry Nadlers" now.

620 Metric Tons is approximately 1.2 Jerry Nadlers.