Reported by Magnesianews.gr
After officially leaving the port of Gezbe, south of Istanbul on 16 January, the Turkish cargo ship Alexandretta arrived in Volos last Thursday 24 January. According to MagnesiaNews the ship left Turkey bound for Libya and stopped in Volos to refuel. The ship declared its cargo. Acting on the declaration the Port police and customs officials found three declared containers of hunting rifles, ammunition and “other military hardware”. The ship is being held in port because of a EU directive prohibiting the shipment of arms to war zones.
There is confusion whether the destination of the ship was Libya or Syria.
What makes the story as reported strange is why would a ship bound for Libya make a 224 mile (360 km) diversion (midAegean-Volos-midAegean) just to refuel?
The distance Gezbe-Volos is 386 miles. At 5.5 mph top speed the Alexandretta would need 3 days to get from Gezbe to Volos. The ship should have arrived on Saturday 19 January but port records say arrival in Volos was 24 January. So there are 4 days when the ship was busy doing something else. It could not have made it from Turkey to Libya and back to Volos in that timeframe.
The Alexandretta is listed as a dry cargo ship capable of carry loose material (sand, grain, scrap iron) in the hold and containers on deck. Top speed 5.5 knots (really slow).
Any guesses about what the Alexandretta was/is up to?
There is a clearer description of the matter here:
http://e-thessalia.gr/υπό-φρούρηση-το-πλοίο-με-τα-όπλα-στο-λιμ/
copy and paste the above URL into google translate (http://translate.google.com/)
Arming Chrysi Avgi?
According to the article in Thessalia the captain said that they would normally refuel in Syros but due to the strong southerlies anchored twice for safety in Cannukale Dardanelles and our own Kyra Panayia. They then made the decision to refuel in Volos. Maybe that explains the delay. Refueling was at Agria, Volos near the cement plant. It was there that the cargo was discovered. Mysterious journey.
Well, the ship should be fitted with AIS as she is above 300t so it should be easy to track her movements. Unless she has had it switched off. The bridge log would also show her movements which can be viewed at anytime by the relevant authority in whichever country you are in.
These are both legal requirements under SOLAS for ships now. The bridge log has always been a requirement. AIS is a relatively new requirement.
I think that a lot of people will be tracking this ship from now on.
Alexandretta left Volos on Saturday Feb. 1st headed for Libya.