MARITIME: Armed terrorists on board of German heavy lift ship in Med

By Our Correspondent

Confirmed perpetrators were found on June 11, 2023, according to FleetMon.

In its latest update, FleetMon, stated: “They sneaked on board in Turkey, and understood, didn’t have firearms. They’ve been locked in the secluded compartment, but broke free and threatened the crew with knives, so the crew had to lock up in safe places.

“Confirmed for 6 days the ship couldn’t get assistance from coastal States, refusing to allow the ship to enter their ports. Confirmed terrorists were seized by Portugal Navy and Special Forces on June 22, 2023, who boarded the ship at sea. Both criminals were taken ashore, and will hopefully face court.”

Earlier, it had stated: “Heavy load carrier VESTVIND crew on Jun 13 spotted two alien persons on board armed as it came out later, with Kalashnikov machine guns. The ship, en route from Turkey to Poland, at that time, was in the Ionian Sea, some 40 nm off the Italian coast. Both terrorists were Syrians; both were recognized by Syrian authorities as “terrorists”.

“Probably Syrians were spotted earlier, on Jun 10-11, because the ship stopped, and resumed sailing after 12-hour drift. What happened then, and later, up until Jun 22, remains a mystery. The ship went adrift after spotting terrorists, Master reported the incident and terrorist threat to Italian authorities, adding that of these two terrorists, one was badly injured. Italy couldn’t do anything including allowing the ship to call Italian port, and advised Master to look for help elsewhere, starting from Flag State, Portugal, and the owner’s State Germany.

“Both States didn’t respond or respond negatively. The hapless ship moved on, on Jun 21 passed Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean. On Jun 22, probably, terrorists were dealt with, as the ship was approached (according to tracks) by a Portugal law enforcement vessel. As of 1100 UTC Jun 22, VESTVIND was sailing in the Gulf of Cadiz, heading NW.”