ID :
75626
Mon, 08/17/2009 - 09:42
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/75626
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Korean ship likely to be booked under Indian Maritime Act
New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) The seized North Korean ship is
likely to be booked under the Indian Maritime Act for entering
the Indian waters illegally, official sources said Sunday.
The sources said Defence Ministry, Ministry of External
Affairs, Union Home Ministry and Coast Guards were
coordinating steps so that the ship 'M V Mu San' could be
moved to Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh for further
inspection. The ship is expected to take five days to cover
the distance between Port Blair where the ship currently is
aanchored and Kakinada port.
The ship is carrying 3.3 lakh gunnybags of sugar weighing
16,500 kilograms.
A team of two nuclear scientists from Kalapakkam had
carried out preliminary investigations of the ship and their
report ruled out existence of any "CBRN (Chemical, Biological,
Radioactive and Nuclear) traces" from the ship.
The security agencies however want a thorough
investigation of the ship by bringing the vessel to Kakinada
port to find out whether there was any CBRN consignment.
The exhaustive searches will again be conducted with the
help of more sophisticated equipment after offloading entire
consignment of sugar from the ship, sources said.
The North Korean vessel was detained by the coastguard
authorities after it dropped its anchor off Hut Bay in the
Andaman islands on August six without permission.
During the initial round of questioning of the Captain,
it emerged that the ship was on its way to Iraq after loading
in Thailand, sources said.
The Captain, who spoke in broken English, reportedly said
the ship had developed a technical snag and that he had to
change the piston, besides carrying out some other mechanical
work. The crew was instructed by their handlers to wait for
fresh instructions before leaving the Indian waters.
The journey of the ship to Iraq raised suspicion among
security agencies as the US would not have hired a North
Korean ship for transportation.
The track record of the ship shows that it had anchored
at Kandla port in January this year and has been frequently
sailing between China and Pakistan, the sources said, adding
the security agencies were now trying to ascertain the purpose
of its visit to India and the agents who had dealt with the
load at that time. PTI
likely to be booked under the Indian Maritime Act for entering
the Indian waters illegally, official sources said Sunday.
The sources said Defence Ministry, Ministry of External
Affairs, Union Home Ministry and Coast Guards were
coordinating steps so that the ship 'M V Mu San' could be
moved to Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh for further
inspection. The ship is expected to take five days to cover
the distance between Port Blair where the ship currently is
aanchored and Kakinada port.
The ship is carrying 3.3 lakh gunnybags of sugar weighing
16,500 kilograms.
A team of two nuclear scientists from Kalapakkam had
carried out preliminary investigations of the ship and their
report ruled out existence of any "CBRN (Chemical, Biological,
Radioactive and Nuclear) traces" from the ship.
The security agencies however want a thorough
investigation of the ship by bringing the vessel to Kakinada
port to find out whether there was any CBRN consignment.
The exhaustive searches will again be conducted with the
help of more sophisticated equipment after offloading entire
consignment of sugar from the ship, sources said.
The North Korean vessel was detained by the coastguard
authorities after it dropped its anchor off Hut Bay in the
Andaman islands on August six without permission.
During the initial round of questioning of the Captain,
it emerged that the ship was on its way to Iraq after loading
in Thailand, sources said.
The Captain, who spoke in broken English, reportedly said
the ship had developed a technical snag and that he had to
change the piston, besides carrying out some other mechanical
work. The crew was instructed by their handlers to wait for
fresh instructions before leaving the Indian waters.
The journey of the ship to Iraq raised suspicion among
security agencies as the US would not have hired a North
Korean ship for transportation.
The track record of the ship shows that it had anchored
at Kandla port in January this year and has been frequently
sailing between China and Pakistan, the sources said, adding
the security agencies were now trying to ascertain the purpose
of its visit to India and the agents who had dealt with the
load at that time. PTI
