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Regular-article-logo Saturday, 02 August 2025

MYSTERY SHIP WITH GUNS THROWS UP THEORIES 

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FROM SUJAN DUTTA Published 08.07.02, 12:00 AM
New Delhi, July 8 :    New Delhi, July 8:  A ship that came in from the blue has the Coast Guard, Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing in a tizzy five days after it was spotted in the Arabian Sea. The MV Al-Murtada, a smallish 50-tonner, 'drifted' into Indian waters in a region that is teeming with Indian and foreign naval vessels and surveillance aircraft, and was reported by a passing merchant vessel, the Meridien Navigator, to the the Coast Guard last week. It was 84 nautical miles (155 km) west of Maharashtra's Ratnagiri coast. The Coast Guard director-general, Vice-Admiral O.P. Bansal, said the vessel had been abandoned some time ago. He said it might have taken two months to reach the spot where it was found. It could have come from waters closer to Africa's east coast. 'At the moment, everything is conjecture. There is no report of a missing vessel matching the Al-Murtada's description. Since the owner and agent is known, however, we expect to learn more about a ship shortly,' Bansal said. It is of some concern in the security establishment that the ship was found after it had clearly been in Indian waters for weeks. The sea lanes in the Arabian Sea are particularly busy now with the traffic of not only merchant vessels but also the navies of several nations engaged in the US' Operation Enduring Freedom. Bansal said there was also a high degree of air surveillance in the area. Conjecture on the possible use of the ship has ranged from 'simple' piracy (with the crew possibly being killed and dumped) and abandonment after an act of crime (gun or drug-running) or, even, possibly smuggling in or smuggling out a criminal (Osama bin Laden?). Intelligence agencies have periodically warned of stretches on the west coast that might be used to land contraband. Dubai-based don Dawood Ibrahim was alleged to have reached RDX used in the 1993 Bombay blasts to his accomplices in the Ratnagiri coast. After an aerial surveillance, the Coast Guard ship, Vijaya, intercepted the Al-Murtada and its men boarded the ship in a midnight operation made all the more difficult in the rough monsoon seas. A search of the ship has so far yielded two AK-47 rifles. (Merchant vessels are not always unarmed. Sailors do carry weapons to ward of possible piracy attempts.) The Al-Murtada is now anchored just off Devgiri. The ship's last known owner, presumably a Lebanese based in Khadeh, by the name of Assem Nidal Beaini, has refused to answer repeated telephone calls made by the Indian Coast Guard. The ship's agent, Talal Abdul, also based in Lebanon, was contacted over the weekend. He told the Coast Guard he had no idea about the vessel but said he would pass on the information to the owner. The Al-Murtada is registered in Sao Tome, an island off west Africa. The Coast Guard director-general said details of the vessel have been sent to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Neighbouring countries have also been informed. The only thing the Coast Guard has learnt till now is that the ship's last recorded port of call was Dubai in September last year. The Coast Guard has also passed on all it has learnt about the vessel to its fraternal security agencies, including the IB and RAW. Sources said it was unlikely the vessel had actually touched the Indian coast before it was spotted. They said the southwest monsoon would have made it drift towards India and when the Coast Guard Dornier recced it, it was 'drifting' at a speed of about 1.5 miles a day. When Coast Guard personnel boarded the ship, they found that there was nothing in it to sustain a crew. But the bridge was equipped with navigational systems and the ship was still seaworthy. The ship's single 1,500 horsepower engine and the anchor were functional. The Al-Murtada, built in a German shipyard in 1974, had no lifeboats on board. Its fuel gauge showed 1,200 gallons in two tanks. The ship was still being 'rummaged' by officials of the Customs, Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Navy apart from the Coast Guard. The two AK-47s that were found had 'Allah' and 'Yusuf' inscribed on them. Ships are not easily abandoned on the high seas because of the huge amount in insurance that their owners can claim. They are either sent for breaking or deliberately sunk to mimic an accident. In 1999, the Coast Guard had intercepted a Japanese ship that was alleged to have been 'hijacked' on the east coast. Since then, the Japanese navy has been carrying out joint exercises with its Indian counterpart.    
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