- As Qatar accuses Bahrain of abusing fisheries issue to deepen Gulf crisis
An unidentified quantity of drugs was found on board a container vessel Dimitris C while in the port of Ilo, Peru, on September 14.
The owner of the ship Danaos Shipping Co told World Maritime News that the contraband was found during a regular inspection on board the Panamax boxship mandated by the company when its ships call into ports suspected of drug trafficking.
As informed, the drugs were found by the crew, carefully hidden in a void space on the deck between two holds.
The master of the Maltese-flagged vessel informed the authorities of the incident, and shortly thereafter police forces accompanied by trained dogs boarded the vessel.
“A full search was conducted by the authorities, escorted by the crew’s safety committee, an office representative who flew from Greece and the representatives of the local P&I. No other drugs were found onboard,” the company said in a statement.
The 40,102 DWT ship was held in the port for three days due to the ongoing investigation proceedings.
The ship’s crew members were interrogated by the local prosecutor, only to be released without charges as they were found to be innocent, Danaos said.
The 2001-built vessel was cleared to depart from the port and left on Sunday, September 17.
Based on the ship’s latest AIS data, it is underway using engine, fully-laden, and bound for Guayaquil, Equador.
In the meantime, Qatar on Tuesday accused Bahrain of abusing fisheries case to deepen diplomatic crisis between the emirate and its Gulf states, the official QNA news agency reported.
Qatar condemned the statement issued by Bahraini Interior Ministry on the detention of 15 Bahraini boats carrying 20 sailors, QNA said.
An interior ministry official said the 15 Bahraini fishing boats seized by Qatari coastguard had been operating illegally in the emirate’s waters and held under routine procedures.
The 20 fishermen on board would be released in the next three days, while courts would decide what would happen to the boats.
The official told QNA that the Coast and Borders Security Department had repeatedly warned fishermen not to operate in Qatari waters and not to use harmful fishing practices.
Qatar had a longstanding territorial dispute with Bahrain over the waters and small islands that separate the peninsula from the main islands of its maritime neighbour which was resolved by International Court of Justice in 2001.
Additional report from World maritime news
