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Ship with arms for Pak halted off city
A STAFF REPORTER
Calcutta, June 25: A Karachi-bound ship carrying military hardware for the Pakistani army has been detained 230km from Calcutta while on its way to the city port to offload other cargo.
The coast guard and police stopped Aegean Glory, a Panama-registered vessel that had proceeded from Chittagong in Bangladesh, at the Sandheads at the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and Hooghly.
The ship was supposed to have been escorted from the Sandheads by a Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) pilot to the port. After offloading some goods at the Calcutta port, the ship was scheduled to head to its final destination in Pakistan.
However, when the CPT pilot boarded the vessel, discrepancies were found between the contents of a list provided by the clearing agent in Calcutta and the declaration made by the captain, according to port officials and the police. He then alerted the police.
A police team led by the south Bengal inspector-general, Sanjay Mukherjee, rushed to the spot along with central intelligence officers to check the ships papers.
We have found that the ship was also carrying military hardware, including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, that were meant for the Pakistan army. But the military hardware was not mentioned by the calling agent. So the police and the coast guard were contacted, said director-general of police Bhupinder Singh. So we are checking the papers to see if they are in order.
According to CPT officials, the calling agent should have a list of all goods a ship is carrying even if they are not meant for the port where a particular consignment is to be offloaded. He has to inform the port officials and the customs authorities about this. But in this case, the calling agent failed to do so.
The two containers carrying the military hardware were in the name of a Pakistani army officer, Singh said. We are checking why Crystal Shipping, the agent handling the Calcutta cargo, did not disclose this or if there was any commu- nication gap. We have called the agents and will question them.
CPT officials said the cargo meant for Calcutta, including vehicles, was to be finally transported to Nepal. No military hardware was to be offloaded in Calcutta, a CPT official said.
According to CPT officials, the ships port of origin was Monrovia in Liberia. It reached Port Louis in Mauritius, from where it travelled to Chittagong.
A STAFF REPORTER
Calcutta, June 25: A Karachi-bound ship carrying military hardware for the Pakistani army has been detained 230km from Calcutta while on its way to the city port to offload other cargo.
The coast guard and police stopped Aegean Glory, a Panama-registered vessel that had proceeded from Chittagong in Bangladesh, at the Sandheads at the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and Hooghly.
The ship was supposed to have been escorted from the Sandheads by a Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) pilot to the port. After offloading some goods at the Calcutta port, the ship was scheduled to head to its final destination in Pakistan.
However, when the CPT pilot boarded the vessel, discrepancies were found between the contents of a list provided by the clearing agent in Calcutta and the declaration made by the captain, according to port officials and the police. He then alerted the police.
A police team led by the south Bengal inspector-general, Sanjay Mukherjee, rushed to the spot along with central intelligence officers to check the ships papers.
We have found that the ship was also carrying military hardware, including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, that were meant for the Pakistan army. But the military hardware was not mentioned by the calling agent. So the police and the coast guard were contacted, said director-general of police Bhupinder Singh. So we are checking the papers to see if they are in order.
According to CPT officials, the calling agent should have a list of all goods a ship is carrying even if they are not meant for the port where a particular consignment is to be offloaded. He has to inform the port officials and the customs authorities about this. But in this case, the calling agent failed to do so.
The two containers carrying the military hardware were in the name of a Pakistani army officer, Singh said. We are checking why Crystal Shipping, the agent handling the Calcutta cargo, did not disclose this or if there was any commu- nication gap. We have called the agents and will question them.
CPT officials said the cargo meant for Calcutta, including vehicles, was to be finally transported to Nepal. No military hardware was to be offloaded in Calcutta, a CPT official said.
According to CPT officials, the ships port of origin was Monrovia in Liberia. It reached Port Louis in Mauritius, from where it travelled to Chittagong.