Seized North Korean ship moved to Kakinada

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) The seized North Korean vessel
'M V Mu San' Wednesday left the Hut Bay in Andaman waters for
Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh where central security
agencies and nuclear scientists will thorougly search it.

The ship, escorted by the Coast Guard on its voyage to
Kakinada, will be searched for any possible traces of
Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear material after
offloading entire 16,500 metric tonnes of sugar it was
carrying to Iraq, official sources said.

The ship's 39-member crew, which also includes a North
Korean government official, would be questioned at the port
itself, they said.

The questioning of the crew got delayed due to
non-availability of a Korean interpreter, they said, adding
this was a unique ship where none was fluent in English.

During the initial round of questioning of the ship's
Captain, made possible with the help of a local interpreter in
Andaman and Nicobar Island, it emerged that the ship was on
its way to Iraq after loading sugar in Thailand, they said.

The journey of the ship to Iraq raised suspicion among
security agencies as the US would not have hired a North
Korean ship for transporting anything to Iraq after the UN
imposed sanctions on it in June this year following conduct of
nuclear tests on May 25 this year.

UN sanctions imposed on North Korea are tougher than the
earlier ones which include provisions for inspection of North
Korean ships in ports and on high seas, a tighter ban on arms
exports, and curbing loans and money transfers to that
country.

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 'M V Mu San' dropped anchor off Hut Bay island in the
Andaman islands on August six without permission and was
detained by the coastguard after a over six-hour chase.

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.

Scientists from Kalapakkam in Tamil Nadu have also been
summoned to the port in Andhra Pradesh where after offloading
sugar from the ship, various tests would be conducted to
ascertain whether there was any radio-active material on the
ship. PTI SKL
DDC