Police probe suspect ship

INVESTIGATIONS are ongoing to determine whether a number of pipes that were discovered on a vessel docked at the Limassol harbour are illegal military supplies or merely meteorological equipment as the captain claims.

After receiving a tipoff from Interpol, special police forces raided the shipping vessel Grigorio I immediately after it docked at the Limassol port on Tuesday. The Panamanian-registered vessel, which had arrived from Port Said, Egypt, was destined for the Syrian port of Latakia.

Deputy Chief of Police Yiorgos Aristidou claimed yesterday that it was still not clear what the cargo under investigation was to be used for and where it came from, adding that the vessels documentation specified a different cargo.

Government Spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis had little to say except that police were trying to confirm information they had received regarding the cargo contents.
“All I have to say is that under a court order the police are conducting an investigation that still has not been completed,” Pashiardis said.

President of the Port Authority Chrisis Prenzas said they were investigating why the boat docked in Limassol when it was destined for Syria.

The boat’s captain claimed that the confiscated pipes and other cargo was meteorological equipment.

In an announcement issued yesterday, police said that they investigated the boat after information was given to them that it was transporting illegal weapons equipment.

Police said until now the investigations had not turned up any evidence that suggests the contents of the vessel were illegal.

Nine members of the crew are presently being held by police and officers of the Department of Merchant Shipping for further questioning

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