U.S. Tracking North Korean Ship

[American Patriot]

Yeah/... whats up with this?

[Malsua]

Lets hope it's at the bottom of the ocean.

[Backstop]

I'm hoping the same: Instant Reef

[Sean Osborne]

Not North Korean... but the same effect of aiding and abetting international terrorism.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/08/asia/AS_GEN_Indonesia_Explosives_Found/>>>
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63 Tons of Explosive Powder with Detonators Found on Chinese Ship


BATAM, Indonesia

Indonesian troops found detonators and 63 tons of explosive powder on a Chinese ship anchored off Batam island after it broke down in the Malacca Strait, a local police chief said.

"We are trying to find out if these explosives were legal and what they were intended for," said Brig. Gen. Sutarman, head of the Riau Islands police, adding that documents found on the ship indicated it was bound for Yemen.


Police who boarded the M.V. Rose at the Cita Tubindo port in Batam, just south of neighboring Singapore, found one container filled with detonators and five others packed with 63 tons of explosive powder, he said.

National and local police are investigating the cache, he said, refusing to say how many people have been questioned over the case.

[Sean Osborne]

Here's the North Korean ship... it's been seized in Indian waters. The intended destination: IRAN



.

| City

MUMBAI, India, Thursday, November 09, 2006



Janaa tha Iran, pahunch gaye Hindustan





North Korean vessel MV-Omranili, on its way to Iran, detained after it ‘strays’ into Indian waters




Mumbai Mirror Bureau




A North Korean freighter, MV-Omranili, which was on its way to Iran ‘found itself’ in Indian waters after an ‘engine failure’ and has been detained in Mumbai. The Coast Guard, the Bombay Port Trust, the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Customs have formed separate teams to inspect the freighter and find out if it is carrying any arms or ammunition and the reason behind its voyage to Iran.

Coming close on the heels of the nuclear tests conducted by North Korea recently, the ‘straying’ of the vessel into Indian waters and its subsequent detention assumes significance. Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources at Mumbai Customs House and the Coast Guard said the ship’s crew members have failed to provide any convincing replies about the purpose of their journey to Iran.

“What is most suspicious is the fact that though it is a cargo ship, they are not carrying any consignment or goods,” said a Coast Guard officer. The authorities are now examining the freighter to find if any contraband is hidden somewhere.

The freighter was first spotted in the Indian waters on October 29. The Coast Guard immediately swung into action and escorted the freighter to the Bombay docks. When questioned, the crew members told the Coast Guard they were on their way to Bandar Abbas in Iran and strayed into the Indian waters as the engine had developed a snag.

Since North Korea is suspected of supplying missile technology and nuclear components to Iran in the past, the Indian authorities are examining the ship closely. While interrogation of the 12 North Korean crew members is still on, the language is proving to be a major hurdle. “They don’t understand English at all. But we are trying our best to find out the purpose of their visit to Iran since there is no conspicuous cargo onboard,” said an officer.

This is the second time a North Korean vessel has been detained by the Indian authorities. A North Korean freighter, Koowolsanho, detained off the Kandla Port in Gujarat in 1999, had yielded equipment for the production of missiles intended for Pakistan. The seized vessel included 148 boxes, declared as machines and water-refining equipment, but intended for the production of tactical surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 300 km.

In addition to being a recipient of technology for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, North Korea is also said to have supplied ballistic missiles and its production technology to other states, mainly Iran, Pakistan, Syria and Libya.

[American Patriot]

Sean, I've been hunting for information on this. Good catch, thanks.

Let us know if you get more. I want to know what's on that ship too.

[Sean Osborne]

Analysis items on this topic to date with the above report now added to what we know.

1. Is this the same North Korean freighter?

The original report said only that freighter was suspected of carrying weapons.

2. This report says this freighter is empty.

Empty freighters ride very high in the water. There's no indiciation that the original vessel under surveillance was riding high in the water.

3. Was there an open-ocean transfer of the cargo?

A possibility that would suggest this might not be the same freighter since we are to assume allied naval assets would have kept the original vessel under constant surveillance** and any open-ocean cargo transfer would have merited an instant interdiction.

4. Is this freighter a decoy?

Also possible.

**Keeping the original freighter under constant surveillance would indicate round-the-clock electronic surveillance. It's unique navigation/surface search radar parameters (i.e.: its "electromagnetic fingerprint") would have been catalogued and allowed real-time monitoring of its movement.

[samizdat]

All this gives me the jeepers hoping not for a Gulf of Tonkin type incident in the Formosa straits.