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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Hunt who wrote (12270)	12/25/2001 4:14:30 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27720

UK to hold seized ship for 'foreseeable future' December 23 2001 17:00 London's Metropolitan Police said the cargo ship intercepted in the English Channel on suspicion of carrying terrorist-related material was likely to be held off the Isle of Wight for the "foreseeable future". A search of the vessel continued for a third day. No such material was found in the initial search of the ship, MV Nisha, which was stopped on Friday 30 miles off the south coast of England by a Royal Navy frigate. Police said on Sunday that detailed examination of the ship was likely to take weeks. The seizure of the vessel underlined growing US concerns that the shipping industry could have been infiltrated by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network to support its activities. The ship was brought late on Friday night to Sandown Bay about half a mile off the Isle of Wight. Scotland Yard described the action as a "major security operation", and security sources said they were acting on intelligence that the vessel was carrying "terrorist material". The ship was registered in the Caribbean island of St Vincent and was transporting raw sugar to a refinery in east London. It was boarded from a Royal Navy frigate by anti-terrorist police and customs officials after a tip-off thought to have been received from US military intelligence. The ship was suspected of carrying explosive material. Before its journey from Mauritius, the vessel twice stopped at Djibouti - next to Somalia, which has been identified as having links with al-Qaeda. Earlier this month, US and Norwegian intelligence agencies are thought to have identified 23 merchant ships allegedly owned or controlled by Mr bin Laden's network. The ships are thought to have been registered as owned by front companies in several offshore jurisdictions including Panama, Liberia and the Isle of Man. US officials believe that some of the ships, allegedly under Mr bin Laden's control, may have been repainted and renamed. The US warned shipping companies worldwide that suspect ships would be searched and destroyed if necessary. Meanwhile, the international trade union of transport workers on Friday called for tighter controls on the operation of ships under flags of convenience, following allegations that such ships were being used by the al-Qaeda network. news.ft.com