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.

[DB]

Other than there would be a clear manifest to where it was being delivered. The fact that they don't "know" is very telling.

[Archangelsk]

680 tonnes is nothing compared to some of the ladings that docked in Bremerhaven during the cold war, chances are the manifest and the rest of the documentation for this package are legal. And, yes, our ports and shipping lines, are a tremendous liability.

[Archangelsk]

One of those vessels completely disintegrated. A bunch of tinfoils are trying to prove that it was a nuclear device.

[singsong]

Commerce has been and still is one of the most sought after activities in the Arab world and where else, other than that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, could envision, 35 years ago, a purely service orientated company, which would facilitate trade amongst companies from all over the world and the local merchant families. With this vision Alpha Trading & Shipping Agencies Ltd. was incepted by Mr. Abdulkader Mohammed Alfadl and the Ellinas brothers, Andreas and Michael, back in 1965. Mr. Alfadl is the offspring of one of the pioneer merchant families of the young Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and together with the expertise and contacts of the Ellinas brothers formed Alpha Trading & Shipping Agencies Ltd. and have successfully achieved to make it one of the top 100 companies of the Kingdom. For the past several years, Mr. Alfadl, a prominent figure in the Saudi society, is the chairman of over 20 companies, all operating prosperously, in very diversified activities and he has been a long standing member of the Directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Al Jazirah Bank and the Saudi Cement Company.
How come such important and jucy facts never make it in the media? Saudi oil money again. I wander what these fanatics are up to...

[Destro]

I never heard the tinfoil story--is that not the incident that caused the Black stevedore crews to mutiny?

[Angelus Errare]

One thought about the Comoros Islands connection is that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al-Qaeda's controller for al-Itihaad al-Islamiyyah in Somalia among other things, is himself a native of those fair isles.

[csvset]

Terror probe into explosives ship

Monday, June 23, 2003 Posted: 0844 GMT ( 4:44 PM HKT)

The Baltic Sky is registered to a company based in Pacific Ocean nation of Marshall Islands. Story Tools

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Officials in Greece are continuing to investigate whether the shipment of 680 tons of explosives through their territorial waters was intended for a terrorist organization.

Bomb experts started examining the cargo after the ship, Baltic Sky, was seized and escorted into the commercial port of Platigialio on Greece's west coast. The ship's seven crew were due to be questioned by a public prosecutor later on Monday, officials said.

Authorities were checking paperwork to see whether the cargo was registered as explosives or labeled as something else. The crew could face charges of violating maritime procedures, journalist Anthee Carassava told CNN.

"We need to check if the cargo is legal or if it was bound for any terrorism group," a Merchant Marine Ministry official told Reuters. Concerns have escalated around the world following recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

"The army's bomb squads are checking the explosives found on the ship and the crew members and the captain will go to the public prosecutor later today to testify."

The crew comprised five Ukrainian nationals, including the captain, and two Azeris.

Greek special forces, acting on a tip from an unnamed country, boarded and seized the ship as it sailed through Greek territorial waters on Sunday. The Greek coast guard escorted Baltic Sky into port.

The Comoros-flagged vessel is owned by Alpha Shipping, registered in the Marshall Islands.

Special forces boarded the ship when it entered Greek waters.

Greek officials would not reveal where the ship began its voyage or where it was believed to be bound. The nature of its cargo was described only as including 680 tons of explosives. No information was reported on what kind of explosives were on board.

The initial tip came from another country's intelligence and was cross-checked by Greek officials before the special forces boarded the vessel, Merchant Marines spokesman Panayotis Tsianos said.

Although it is not unusual for cargo ships to carry explosives, ships with the quantity aboard Baltic Sky are "extremely rare," he said.

One suspicious aspect, he said, was the fact that the Baltic Sky flew under the flag of Comoros. Some shipping companies use the Comoros as a so-called flag of convenience, to avoid taxes and other regulations, according to The Associated Press.

Comoros is a politically unstable island nation in the Mozambique Channel, off the coast of Africa, according to the CIA World Factbook.

[TC Rider]

The worst harbor explosion of all time was Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1917...

I'd forgotten that one. I recall hearing the story one weekend on NPR. They also had the story of Port Chicago at some point, from the racial angle of course.

(I know, I consider it monitoring the enemy)

[Paul C. Jesup]

That is what I was think too.

[Coop]

One thought about the Comoros Islands connection is that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al-Qaeda's controller for al-Itihaad al-Islamiyyah in Somalia among other things, is himself a native of those fair isles.

Very good point.

[ewing]

WTC= .5 kilotons total

[Ditter]

I remember the Texas City explosion. We lived in Bellaire (west side of Houston). We felt it & saw the smoke. My parents lost friends in that one too.

[csvset]

An update on this thread.

Explosives (680 tons)ship seized by Greece heading for Sudan

[Dog]

Did you see what singsong posted..??

Commerce has been and still is one of the most sought after activities in the Arab world and where else, other than that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, could envision, 35 years ago, a purely service orientated company, which would facilitate trade amongst companies from all over the world and the local merchant families. With this vision Alpha Trading & Shipping Agencies Ltd. was incepted by Mr. Abdulkader Mohammed Alfadl and the Ellinas brothers, Andreas and Michael, back in 1965. Mr. Alfadl is the offspring of one of the pioneer merchant families of the young Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and together with the expertise and contacts of the Ellinas brothers formed Alpha Trading & Shipping Agencies Ltd. and have successfully achieved to make it one of the top 100 companies of the Kingdom. For the past several years, Mr. Alfadl, a prominent figure in the Saudi society, is the chairman of over 20 companies, all operating prosperously, in very diversified activities and he has been a long standing member of the Directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Al Jazirah Bank and the Saudi Cement Company.

Comes back to the Saudis again..

[Coop]

Certainly you're not suggesting there's any connection between Saudi Arabia and terrorism! Shame!!

[JustPiper]

I heard this ship is an atomic bomb!

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 06/22/2003. Thanks Sub-Driver.

The rest of the Baltic Sky keyword, chrono:

• COUNTER-TERRORISM: The Mysterious al Qaeda Navy [2004]
• The Mysterious al Qaeda Navy [2004]
• Terror lurks on high seas [2003]
• Suspicion lingers around explosives-laden cargo ship [2003]
• Half a million bullets seized on Greek-Albanian border [2003]
• Ukrainians Detained for Smuggling Explosives [2003]
• TNT Ship is Boat Without a Country [2003]
• Freighter Captain in Court, as Greece Looks for al-Qaeda Links [2003]
• Greece 'Too Hasty' In Seizing Ship (Explosives) [2003]
• Irish link as 'floating atom bomb' is stormed [2003]
• NATO tracking 20 ships 'linked to terror' [2003]
• Irish link as 'floating atom bomb' is stormed [2003]
• Cargo Ship Raided by Greece Was Going to Sudanese Capital "cargo was like an atomic bomb" [2003]
• Sudan Link To Greek Mystery Ship (Explosives) [2003]
• Greece links seized ship's explosive cargo to Sudan [2003]
• Explosives (680 tons)ship seized by Greece heading for Sudan [2003]

[Rebelbase]

“620 Metric Tons is approximately 1.2 Jerry Nadlers.”

For more precise measurements it could be broken down into the weight of Jerry Nadler’s diapers.