Sudan Link To Greek Mystery Ship (Explosives)

BBC ^ | 6-23-2003

[blam]

Sudan link to Greek mystery ship

The Baltic Sky had been on a long odyssey around the Mediterranean

An explosives-laden ship seized off Greece had documents linking it to a non-existent firm based in Sudan, say officials. The Baltic Sky was carrying 680 tons of explosives when it was stormed by special forces off Greece's western coast on Sunday.

Greek Shipping Minister George Anomeritis says the ship's manifest showed that cargo was officially bound for a company with "a post office box in Khartoum that did not exist".

The cargo was destined for a company with a post office box in Khartoum (capital of Sudan) that does not exist

George Anomeritis Greek Shipping Minister However, the ship's location suggested it was not heading towards Khartoum. It had apparently been sailing around the Mediterranean for six weeks before being impounded.

It had loaded 450 pallets of TNT and 8,000 detonators in Gabes, Tunisia on 12 May, Mr Anomeritis said.

The vessel was later seen near Istanbul on 22 May and in the Aegean Sea on 2 June. It was boarded in the Ionian Sea on Sunday.

The Ukrainian captain and his crew face questioning

Mr Anomeritis said the ship was carrying TNT, but documents from the ship described the cargo as ANFO, a commercially-manufactured ammonia nitrate-based explosive usually used in mining.

"No-one knows the recipient, so no-one knows how it would be used," said Mr Anomeritis.

The crew of seven were due to be questioned by a public prosecutor later on Monday, Mr Anomeritis said.

He said possible terrorist links would be investigated.

The boat was raided after a tip-off that it was carrying a suspicious cargo.

We want this cleared up as soon as possible and the ship removed because of its cargo

Pythagoras Samaras Local mayor After the Baltic Sky's dramatic boarding on Sunday, it was forced into the tiny Greek port of Platiyali, 235 kilometres (145 miles) north-west of Athens.

The local mayor has expressed concern at the ship's arrival.

"We want this cleared up as soon as possible and the ship removed because of its cargo," said Pythagoras Samaras.

Five of the seven crew are Ukrainians; the other two are Azerbaijanis.

The discovery of the cargo comes amid heightened terror alerts in East Africa and elsewhere.

Anti-terrorist forces and army bomb experts have begun examining the cargo.

The vessel is owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, but is registered in the Comoros Islands, which is regarded as a provider of flags of convenience, the merchant marine ministry announced.

"It looks certainly like a suspect ship," government spokesman Telemachos Hytiris said.

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

The BBC's Panos Polyzoidis in Greece says the shipment of explosives is so large that it may have been intended for a government rather than an organisation.

[MizSterious]

Interesting mystery...

[dixiechick2000]

Curiouser and curiouser...

"It looks certainly like a suspect ship," government spokesman Telemachos Hytiris said."

Pretty big understatment, IMO.

[scooter2]

Actually, there's a simple solution for this. The Brits have submarines in the Med. Tow the unmanned ship out into the middle of the Med and put a couple of MK48's in to her. Problem solved.

[eyespysomething]

The BBC's Panos Polyzoidis in Greece says the shipment of explosives is so large that it may have been intended for a government rather than an organisation.

Hmmmm...

[knighthawk]

bump!

[Ranger]

Somebody pays the bills for this kind of thing. A ship doesn't circle in the Med for 6 weeks without a purpose or funding. If you can't follow the ship, then follow the money.

[swarthyguy]

The COmoros registration is interesting, whatever its significance.

There was an attempted islamic coup there almost a decade ago, and the hijacking in the mid90's of a plane from Ethiopia that crashed near a beach in the Comoros; on it were some CIA operatives. I forget if the hijackers were explicitly identified as jihadis or if the CIA people were the targt. Not too much information ever came out about the whole affair.

Fundy islami influence has been growing on this island fuelled by Saudi money and clerics subverting the island's more easygoing and tolerant islamic ways, similar to islamic coastal communities in India and Indonesia.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping and the post!

I wonder if the Captain has any idea where he is suppose to land?

[Angelus Errare]

Well if I remember right, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was recruited at a young age by MAK and taken to a (Saudi-funded) Pakistani madrassa for indoctrination. If MAK was recruiting in Comoros, I doubt that Mohammed was the only fruit of their efforts.

I'm also beginning to wonder if a viable strategy for winning the war on terrorism wouldn't simply to be to freeze all Saudi assets and shut down these jihadi factories. Somehow I get the feeling that al-Qaeda would be a lot less cocky without billions in Saudi cash to back them up.

[swarthyguy]

It's a hole big enough in our anti terror strategy to fly a 747 Jumbo through. Unless you get serious, which means treating the Saudis as an explicit enemy, the antiterror war may go on for decades.

Cutting of money worked for the Mafia and the NarcoTraffickers.

Isolate, quarantine the Saudi money.

Question is of the will by the Bush Administration and the politics of the USA combined with Saudi investments and largesse.

[Straight Vermonter]

Whatever happened to the Iraqi mystery ships?

[cake_crumb]

Sheesh. Cargo to be delivered to non-existant company, Sudan, enough explosives to level a city...still no interest.

[cake_crumb]

"Whatever happened to the Iraqi mystery ships?"

Interesting question.

[blam]

"Whatever happened to the Iraqi mystery ships?"

Don't know. I've been asking the same question w/o an answer. Another question, what happened with the guys caught sneaking across the Mexican border with millions of dollars?

[Minutemen]

bump