Has anyone heard any more about the three mystery ships?
haaretzdaily.com
also: news.independent.co.uk
Report: Ships suspected of carrying Iraqi arms
tracked
By Reuters
LONDON - U.S. and British intelligence services are tracking three mystery ships suspected of carrying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the Independent newspaper said on Wednesday.
Asked to comment on the report, a spokeswoman for Britain's Ministry of Defense said: "We don't discuss intelligence issues."
Financial market dealers said the story increased tensions about Iraq and some said it helped push safe-haven government bonds higher and the dollar lower in early trading on Wednesday.
The paper, quoting what it called authoritative shipping industry sources, said the giant cargo ships had been sailing around the world for three months while maintaining radio silence in violation of international maritime law.
But the International Maritime Organization said it was not against the international law of the sea to withhold information about the content of a cargo, its destination or to maintain radio silence on the high seas.
"Ships do steam around on the high seas without giving a destination or declaring a manifest -- it is common practice," an IMO spokesman told Reuters.
"A declaration (of cargo) is only required when a port or destination is known -- oil companies, for example, do this kind of thing all the time," he said.
He said that once vessels entered a country's territorial waters then different laws applied, however, and the ship's master would have to comply.
Intelligence chiefs are believed to be reluctant to stop and search the vessels for fear they might be scuttled and cause an environmental disaster, the Independent said.
A shipping industry source told the paper: "If Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction, then a very large part of its capability could be afloat on the high seas right now.
"These ships have maintained radio silence for long periods and for a considerable time they have been steaming around in ever decreasing circles."
The Independent said the ships were thought to have set sail from a country other than Iraq to avoid Western naval patrols. It quoted defense experts as saying the ships' cargo could have been smuggled through Syria or Jordan.
The paper said the ships had been chartered by an Egypt-based shipping agent and were flying under the flags of three different nations.
The newspaper said the vessels were thought to have spent much of their time in the Indian Ocean. They had berthed in a handful of Arab countries, including Yemen, it said, but gave no specific details as to where they may be now. |
