By IANS,
New Delhi/Kochi : A probe team has found nothing “incriminating” on board a Pakistan-bound North Korean ship, which was detained off the Kerala coast for anchoring in Indian waters without mandatory clearance, a naval official said Sunday.
The vessel, Hyang Ro, was detained at Vadakara in Kozhikode district Oct 2 and was inspected by a joint team of the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard, intelligence agencies and port authorities, naval spokesperson Commander Roy Francis said.
“The team has completed its investigations of the vessel. The ship had anchored without mandatory clearance. It cited an internal leak in its tanks as the reason for anchoring in Indian waters,” Francis told IANS over phone.
The ship will soon leave the Indian waters, he said.
“The authorities, who inspected the ship have established that the claims of the crew were genuine. The investigating team did not find any incriminating cargo or evidence on board,” Francis added.
The ship of approximately 9,000 tonnes was en route to Port Bin Qasim in Pakistan from Colombo. The ship is captained by Choe Sung Ho and is owned by Pyongyang-based Sinhung Shipping Company.
This is the second incident this year of a “suspicious” North Korean ship being detained for anchoring in Indian waters without prior permission.
In August this year, a ship was detained in the Bay of Bengal. The vessel had dropped anchor off Hut Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, it was later found to have genuine merchandise.