Panama finds suspected weapons on N. Korean ship

Published: July 15, 2013 Updated 10 minutes ago

Panama Ship Seized

The North Korean-flagged cargo ship Chong Chon Gang sits docked at the Manzanillo International container terminal on the coast of Colon City, Panama, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Panama's president said the country has seized the ship, carrying what appeared to be ballistic missiles and other arms that had set sail from Cuba.

ARNULFO FRANCO — AP Photo

— Panama's president said the country 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 and the ship was violating United Nations resolutions against arms trafficking.

Earlier, the president said on his Twitter account 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.

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, a country in peace, that doesn't like war, we feel very worried about this war material and we don't know what else will have ... passed through the Panama Canal," Martinelli said.

The government of North Korea had not commented on Martinelli's remarks as of Tuesday morning. Cuban government officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hugh Griffiths, an arms trafficking expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the seized ship is called Chong Chon Gang and has been on the institute's suspect list for some time.

He said the ship had been caught before for trafficking narcotics and small arms ammunition. It was stopped in 2010 in the Ukraine and was attacked by pirates 400 miles off the coast of Somalia in 2009.

Griffiths' institute has also been interested in the ship because of a stop it made in 2009 in Tartus — a Syrian port city hosting a Russian naval base.

Griffiths also said the institute earlier this year reported to the U.N. a discovery it made of a flight from Cuba to North Korea that travelled via central Africa.

"Given the history of North Korea, Cuban military cooperation and now this latest seizure, we find this flight more interesting," he said. "After this incident there should be renewed focus on North Korean-Cuban links."

In early July, a top North Korean general, Kim Kyok Sik, visited Cuba and met with his island counterparts.

Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma said he was also received by President Raul Castro, and the two had an "exchange about the historical ties that unite the two nations and the common will to continue strengthening them."

The meetings were held behind closed doors, and there has been no detailed account of their discussions.

Martinelli told RPC the 35 North Koreans on the boat resisted police efforts to take the ship to the Caribbean port of Manzanillo. The crew was later 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 some days ago that the ship might be carrying drugs.

In a report sent to subscribers Tuesday, Lloyd's List Intelligence said the ship's last known port call was in Vostochnyy, Russia. It departed April 12 with a stated destination of Havana, traveled west of Japan and then across the Pacific to arrive in Balboa, Panama, on May 31.

It crossed through the Panama Canal the following day.

"And then we lose track of it, there's no AIS information," said Daryl Williamson, director of maritime data at Lloyd's List Intelligence in London, referring to the Automatic Identification System of tracking maritime traffic using on-board transponders.

"What's been said by the Panamanian authorities is consistent with the observations, but we haven't been able to verify by 'eyes-on' the arrival in Cuba," he added.

There was no confirmation of its arrival in Havana. The ship then popped up again in Cristobal, Panama, on July 12.

The Lloyd's List report said the ship, which is registered to the Pyongyang-based Chongchongang Shipping Company, "has a long history of detentions for safety deficiencies and other undeclared reasons."

The report added that the vessel docked in Chinese ports for several months before going to Russia. It said the ship was built in 1979 and has a deadweight capacity of 14,000 tons.

AP writers Malin Rising in Stockholm and Peter Orsi in Havana contributed to this report.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/07/15/3094266/panama-seizes-no...

Views: 36

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
48 minutes ago
kacang99 commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

The Name Game

"very nice, main di kacang99 demo situs slot kasih akun demo gratis"
2 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I was wrong Emperor Penguins are big and powerful but still alive but this,  A size…"
3 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"Cheeki kea here's another that they say there have been modern sightings of!  The name of…"
3 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea, did you ever hear of the giant Imperial Penguins? They were about 6 feet tall and could…"
3 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I do not think these giant two legged birds would need to have a bad attitude as long as…"
3 hours ago
Olivia Brooks updated their profile
9 hours ago
kacang99 updated their profile
11 hours ago
John Miller was featured
12 hours ago
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
12 hours ago
Zfort Group's blog post was featured
12 hours ago
Doc Vega's 6 blog posts were featured
12 hours ago
Burbia commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

“What’s His Motive?” - Inside The Mind of George Soros

"Trump calls for George Soros and son to face federal…"
17 hours ago
Burbia commented on tjdavis's photo
17 hours ago
Profile Iconkacang99, Seeta Sathe and Olivia Brooks joined 12160 Social Network
18 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Mossad, Terrifying CIA Technology, Blackwater & The Most Secret CIA Unit | John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou served 15 years in the CIA as a Case Officer (Spy) and as CIA's Head of Counterterrorism Operations in Pakistan where he lead the raid that cap...
yesterday
tjdavis posted a photo
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

A Critique of the Tavistock Institute - The Mother Of All Conspiracy Theories

An examination of the Tavistock Institute, a theory which seeks to explain how Western societies have been brainwashed by a cabal of social scientists and th...
Sunday
tjdavis posted a video

“What’s His Motive?” - Inside The Mind of George Soros

In this short clip, Patrick Bet-David, Sebastian Gorka Adam Sosnick, and Tom Ellsworth George Soros and what motivates him to do the things he does. FaceTime...
Thursday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Aug 27

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted