NATO Intercepts Tripoli Bound Ship
A NATO vessel has stopped a ship from continuing its voyage to Tripoli after suspicions were raised over its cargo.
The British Defense Ministry confirmed that NATO ship, HMAS Liverpool, stopped the roll-on, roll-off ferry Setubal Express in the Mediterranean on Saturday after suspicions arouse that the cargo of vehicles onboard could be used by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The Malta-flagged ship, sailing from Valetta, was boarded by a team from the HMAS Liverpool. During the boarding irregularities with the ship’s cargo log were found. The task force’s commander ordered the ship to not enter Libya’s waters and redirected the ship to its next port in Salerno, Italy.
Officials have not released details of the irregularities.
The Setubal Express remains in International waters while the ships owner and the government of Malta try to figure out what irregularities exist.
The government of Malta provided the following sequence of events in a statement last night:
• Tuesday, 12 April
Clearance was given to M/V Setubal Express to sail to Tripoli, Libya from Valletta carrying cargo which includes motor vehicles, clothing, furniture, spare parts, cement, foodstuffs and raw materials (both ro-ro and containerized) following fulfilment of all necessary procedures.
• Thursday, 14 April
Prior to entering Libyan territorial waters the Master of the M/V Setubal Express received a request from the NATO military vessel HMS Liverpool to board the vessel. The Master of the M/V Setbul Express cooperated fully and the vessel was boarded by a team of military personnel from HMS Liverpool who carried out an inspection on all cargo decks and a random inspection of the cargo. When the inspection was completed, the master of vessel was instructed by Commander of HMS Liverpool not to enter Libya’s territorial waters.
The ship operator immediately contacted Allied Maritime Command (Naples) to enquire why the vessel was denied permission to proceed with its voyage to Tripoli, however he was instructed to address the matter to the competent Italian authorities, who would, if they so wish, pass it on to the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Libya via the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations.
• Friday, 15 April
The matter was brought to attention of the Maltese Authorities, which immediately informed the Sanctions Monitoring Board. The Permanent Representative to the UN was requested to liaise with his Italian counterpart on this matter and possibly with the appropriate UN entity in order to obtain an explanation as to why the vessel was denied permission to proceed with its voyage to Tripoli. In the meantime, further information was also requested from the Allied Maritime operations centre.