HADDAD 1

scrapped

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Beached

Beached at Aliaga 17.01.18 Picture: www.instagram.com/p/BeKICALgYXO/?taken-by=captainselim

Operator of seized ship used a post office box in Tartus that hosts a naval facility for the Russian Navy.

Weapons and ammunition found on the "Haddad 1" that was headed to Libya’s western port city of Misrata, controlled by Islamist group Libya Dawn, were manufactured in Turkey. The weapons were likely to have been bartered for oil. The search revealed almost 500,000 rounds of ammunition and 5,000 rifles along with over 4,900 cartons of cigarettes. Although Greek authorities have not yet ascertained where the illicit cargo was loaded, initial evidence suggests it was Iskenderun, the last port visited by the "Haddad 1" before it was intercepted. The cargo documents stated that the ship carried only household items. Furniture pieces were on board, but only as camouflage for the weapons. The Turkish foreign ministry claimed that the shipment was fully documented and destined for the Sudanese police force. Yavex, the Turksih manufacturer of the ammunition found on board also said its ammunition had not been shipped to Libya. Greek official said that nothing on board the ship established any link with any Sudanese entity, public or private and that they didn’t find any documents connecting the cargo with Sudanese territories. Two Indians and one Egyptian have been arrested and indicted on charges of illegal smuggling and remain in pre-trial detention pending the ongoing investigation. The ship, currently docked at Iraklion is currently banned from European ports due to safety issues raised in Spain in 2014. It is currently owned by an Egyptian company called Haddad Shipping SA, headquartered in Alexandria. However, operations are delegated to another company, the Syria-based Phoenicia Maritime LLC, which uses as its registered address a post office box in the regime-controlled port city of Tartus that hosts a naval facility for the Russian Navy.

Inspection of smuggler ship completed, crew prosecuted

The authorities in Heraklion have completed their inspection of the 12 containers remaining onboard the "Haddad 1" and found no further weaponry. Seven members of the crew, which includes nationals from Syria, Egypt and India, have been brought before the competent public prosecutor in Heraklion. Over 5,000 “police-type” firearms and more than 490,000 rounds of ammunition were found in two containers the cargo vessel, and were believed to have been bound for Islamic State forces in Libya. The two containers were loaded at the ship’s last port of call, İskenderun. The final count of weaponry onboard the vessel stood at 4,881 weapons and 491,950 bullets. The weapons and ammunition were carefully hidden deep inside the containers behind other cargo such as drawers, cupboards and gymnastics mats. Additionally, a large quantity of cigarettes were found in seven other containers. The Coastguard was still trying to verify their legality. The "Haddad 1" was being commercially managed by Piraeus-based IMS Hellenic, the registered owner being the Haddad Shipping Co. Report with photos: http://splash247.com/no-further-weapons-found-on-vessel-detained-in-crete-crew-before-prosecutor/