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Skipper messed up NA shipment: UN
KATHMANDU, JUL 28 -
The UN said on Tuesday that the Pakistan-bound ship — The Aegean Glory — that was carrying, among others, military vehicles belonging to Nepal Army’s UN peacekeeping troops in Liberia hit rough weather, because the captain of the ship did not follow the route planned by the UN when it set sail from Liberia.
The 153-meter cargo ship, operated under the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), was stopped by Indian intelligence in Kolkata last week “for investigation” on the suspicion that it was carrying a huge cache of arms and
ammunition without proper documents.
The ship was there to offload the NA military cargo. When the Indian authorities denied it
entry, it sailed back to Karachi on July 25.
According to Martin Nesirky, Spokesman for the UN Secretary General, the ship was stopped by Indian authorities due to “inadequate communication” between the ship’s captain who did not follow the scheduled route and the Indian authorities.
The UN News Center states that the ship was originally scheduled to sail from Liberia on May 18 and dock at Karachi, and then Kolkata before proceeding to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The ship instead reached the Indian port city directly.
“Apparently, a unilateral decision to alter the route was taken without consulting the United Nations and that’s why it arrived in Bangladesh first and then went on to India. This resulted in the Pakistani cargo still being on board the ship when it arrived in Indian waters. That was
obviously not the original plan,” said Nesirky in the press briefing at the UN headquarters on Tuesday.
Earlier, Indian media had quoted senior police officers as saying that the ship was carrying rocket launchers, smoke bombs and anti-aircraft guns, apart from other sophisticated arms and ammunition.
Posted on: 2010-07-29 08:22
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