Panama detains N. Korean ship suspected of carrying weapons
Source: Agencies |
July 17, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
PANAMA has seized a North Korean-flagged ship carrying what appeared to be ballistic missiles and other arms that had set sail from Cuba on its way to the Pacific.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli told RPC radio on Monday that the ship had been headed for North Korea.
There were no immediate details on the quantity of arms aboard.
Martinelli said the undeclared military cargo appeared to include missiles and non-conventional arms. He said the ship was violating United Nations resolutions against arms trafficking.
Earlier, the Panamanian president said on Twitter that the arms were "hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar."
He offered no details but posted a photo of what appeared to be a green tubular object sitting inside a cargo container or the ship's hold.
Defense publisher IHS Jane's said it identified the equipment as an RSN-75 "Fan Song" fire control radar for the SA-2 family of surface-to-air missiles.
Panamanian authorities have only searched one of the ship's five cargo holds so far, said Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for the president.
"This material not being declared and Panama being a neutral country ... we feel very worried about this war material and don't know what else will have passed through the Panama Canal," Martinelli said.
Martinelli told RPC the 35 North Koreans on the boat resisted efforts to take the ship to the port of Manzanillo. The crew was taken into custody.
Martinelli said the captain had a heart attack and also tried to commit suicide during the operation.
He said authorities had been tipped off that the ship might be carrying drugs.
Hugh Griffiths, an arms trafficking expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the seized ship - the Chong Chon Gang - has been on the institute's suspect list for some time.
He said the ship had been caught before trafficking narcotics and small arms ammunition. It was stopped in 2010 in the Ukraine and was attacked by pirates 644 kilometers off the coast of Somalia in 2009.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli told RPC radio on Monday that the ship had been headed for North Korea.
There were no immediate details on the quantity of arms aboard.
Martinelli said the undeclared military cargo appeared to include missiles and non-conventional arms. He said the ship was violating United Nations resolutions against arms trafficking.
Earlier, the Panamanian president said on Twitter that the arms were "hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar."
He offered no details but posted a photo of what appeared to be a green tubular object sitting inside a cargo container or the ship's hold.
Defense publisher IHS Jane's said it identified the equipment as an RSN-75 "Fan Song" fire control radar for the SA-2 family of surface-to-air missiles.
Panamanian authorities have only searched one of the ship's five cargo holds so far, said Luis Eduardo Camacho, a spokesman for the president.
"This material not being declared and Panama being a neutral country ... we feel very worried about this war material and don't know what else will have passed through the Panama Canal," Martinelli said.
Martinelli told RPC the 35 North Koreans on the boat resisted efforts to take the ship to the port of Manzanillo. The crew was taken into custody.
Martinelli said the captain had a heart attack and also tried to commit suicide during the operation.
He said authorities had been tipped off that the ship might be carrying drugs.
Hugh Griffiths, an arms trafficking expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the seized ship - the Chong Chon Gang - has been on the institute's suspect list for some time.
He said the ship had been caught before trafficking narcotics and small arms ammunition. It was stopped in 2010 in the Ukraine and was attacked by pirates 644 kilometers off the coast of Somalia in 2009.
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