Agence France-Presse . Kolkata
An arms-laden ship bound for Pakistan and detained by Indian authorities may have been carrying decommissioned weaponry from a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, the police said Sunday.
The police made the statement as the ship, detained Friday by Indian authorities, was brought to the port of Kolkata in West Bengal state from Diamond Harbour, 50 kilometres south of the city.
The police earlier said the MV Aegean Glory, bound for Karachi, contained a 'huge quantity' of explosives, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and some bombs in two large containers.
The ship 'may have been carrying decommissioned weaponry that was being used by troops in a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia,' the West Bengal police director general Bhupinder Singh said
'The ship was apparently chartered by the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia. It seems the military hardware was being deinducted and sent back as three separate consignments to Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.'
The UN sent 15,000 troops into Liberia in 2003 after 14 years of civil war that claimed roughly 270,000 lives.
In April, the UN peacekeeping force in Liberia began scaling back its presence after a UN and government assessment in 2007 that the country was gradually moving towards peace and stability.
A team from India's intelligence agency had arrived in Kolkata to check the cargo, the police said.
Indian intelligence officials have contacted UN peacekeeping officials in New York to obtain detailed information about the ship, West Bengal police inspector general Surojit Karpurokayastha said.
'The military hardware was loaded onto the ship in Monrovia port in Liberia' and the ship set sail on May 17, Karpurokayastha said.
The detained ship, which has 20 crew members including its Greek captain, had sailed from Monrovia to Mauritius and on to Chittagong in Bangladesh before making for Diamond Harbour, he said.
Kolkata is often used to unload shipments for landlocked neighbour Nepal, the police said.
Karpurokayastha said the vessel was next due to sail for Karachi.
The 153-metre- long Panama-registered ship was detained following an intelligence tip-off, the police said.
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jun/28/front.html#7
Explosives-laden ship headed for Karachi stoppedKOLKATA: Security agencies on Friday intercepted a Karachi-bound ship at Diamond Harbour, 50 km from Kolkata, laden with explosives, arms and ammunition. M V Agean Glory, a St Vincent registered vessel, had set sail from the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh. The shipping agent, who was to handle the vessel at Kolkata, had declared the cargo as a container and some vehicles. Regulation states that agents must mention whether a ship is carrying any explosives, even if it is not to be unloaded.
A senior Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) official said: "When the pilot boarded the vessel, he asked the captain what kind of cargo the ship was carrying. The master of the vessel said apart from the container and cars, he was carrying 'military cargo', which included Grade-I explosives. The pilot immediately got in touch with KoPT officials to find out if this part of the cargo had been declared. We checked up and came to know that the agent had not declared the explosives. The pilot was asked to stop the vessel and security agencies were informed. Customs, Navy, coast guard and state police officers are carrying out a detailed inquiry. The ship is anchored at Diamond Harbour.
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