Chariot: ship in Syrian arms trouble abandoned?

in Spanish waters

"Notification Westberg Management AG, on the procedure for declaration of abandonment of the ship "M / S Chariot" IMD 8302882.

Mar 15, 2013 In order to complete the Article 59 of Law 30/92 of 26 November, on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, as amended by Law 4/99, and after having tried at home notification declared WESTBERG MANAGEMENT AG, Majuro, Marshall Islands and as recorded in the Register of Ships of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Marshall Islands, as the owner of the ship "Chariot" IMO: 8302882 initiation of proceedings for a declaration of abandonment is told the following :

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PROCESSING PROCEDURE STATEMENT ABANDON SHIP "M / S CHARIOT" IMD 8302882.

Once the period of notice of initiation of proceedings to abandon ship "Chariot" reached port and the appointment of instructor and secretary in ..."

[January 31 2012]

MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti)The Syrian Ambassador to Russia denied Western media reports that a Russian [SVG-flag] ship reportedly carrying weapons had docked in a Syrian port A ship suspected of carrying tons of munitions bound for Syria was freed to leave a port in Cyprus after changing its destination. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry confirms a Russian ship suspected of supplying arms to the Assad regime in Syria had been released from port, after a brief detention by authorities.

The ship was forced to dock for refueling Tuesday at Limassol in western Cyprus, following bad weather. Local media reported at least 35 tons of munitions and explosive material were onboard, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement confirming customs officials had discovered four containers and a generator in the hold.

The statement added that the ship, identified as the Saint Vincent-flagged MV Chariot, also contained “a dangerous cargo.” The ship, which left the Russian port of St. Petersburg on December 9, has been refueled and will set sail when the rough weather in the eastern Mediterranean calms.

According to the Foreign Ministry statement, it was agreed that the ship would sail to an alternative location and not Syria, but details of the new destination have not been disclosed. The government of Cyprus, which is an European Union member, insisted the ship had not breached the terms of the EU ban on sending arms to Syria. The statement also confirmed that port officials had not been able to check the entire cargo due to tight packing in the hold of the vessel. The Russian-owned ship that was briefly detained in Cyprus for carrying munitions to Syria a week ago, docked in the Turkish port of Alexandretta after first travelling to Syria, according to Turkish news reports. A TURKISH foreign ministry official stated that the Russian ship carrying arms to Syria anchored off Turkey’s port of Alexandretta on Saturday,

Turkish daily Today’s Zaman reported that Turkish officials said the Chariot, suspected of delivering munitions to Syria, had anchored off Turkey's coast, Selcuk Unal, the Turkish foreign ministry official, said Turkish coast guard and customs officials would board the Chariot before allowing it to dock at the port of Alexandretta (Iskenderun).

Unal said the ship left the Syrian port of Tartus early on Saturday and reached Turkey later in the day. He said the Chariot’s captain confirmed the ship had arrived from Syria. But it remained unclear what type of cargo, if any, the ship may have offloaded at Tartus. On January 13, the US said it had sought clarifications from both Russia and Cyprus over the ship, which sources said contained a cargo of bullets. here

8302882 CHARIOT OYID2 General Cargo Ship 922 1984 Ex Names History Vessel's Name Flag Call Sign CHARIOT St Vincent Grenadines J8B4413 MALENE Denmark OYID2 2009-02-13 18:00 MS MALENE Denmark OYID2 2009-01-30 05:38 MARKLAND SAGA 1990-09-22 00:00

16-03-2011 General cargo Chariot was attacked by pirates in 12 018N 066 143E on Mar 5 2011 at around 1940 LT, pirates used new tactics – there was a decoy attack by a white skiff, departing from mother-ship and attracting attention of vessel under attack, while real attacking skiff with 6 pirates approached vessel from stern port side, skiff was camouflage-painted. There were 4 armed guards on board, Russian Spetsnaz vets, after gunfire exchange pirates ceased attack and returned to mother ship, not dhow but apparently one of the highjacked ocean-going freighters, of more than 100 meters length, with two cranes. Chariot IMO 8302882, dwt 1302, built 1984, flag S-Vincent, owner Westberg S-Petersburg, Russia.

What are nice Spetsnez vets doing on a boat like this?

Chariot: now anchored in Dubai after Iran call

Having delivered her cargo of munitions to Syria, the Chariot went on to Turkey. Data from the IHS Fairplay shipping information service show that the Chariot called at Turkey’s Iskenderun Explosives Anchorage, then sailed through the Bosphorus and in late January called at the Ukrainian port of Illichevsk. The Chariot then headed back into the Mediterranean, transited the Suez Canal, rounded the Arabian Peninsula, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and, arriving about Feb. 29, anchored for 33 hours at the Iranian port of Assaluyeh.


In the eyes of the Russian government, this counts as business as usual. Whether the U.S. and European Union would view it so casually is a different matter. Assaluyeh, located in Iran’s Bushehr Province, is one of seven Iranian ports served by an Iranian port operator, Tidewater Middle East Co., which has been blacklisted by the U.S. and EU as owned or controlled by the proliferation and terror-linked Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the U.S. Treasury, Tidewater “has been used by the IRGC for illicit shipments,” and its Shahid Rajaee container terminal at another Iranian port, Bandar Abbas, “has played a key role in facilitating the Government of Iran’s weapons trade.”


 Chariot had been hired, by parties who did not want to be named, on a three-month time charter, starting at the end of November and extending until the end of February. That would imply that the same nameless charterer who dispatched the Chariot to Syria had also dispatched her to Iran.    Chariot’s cargo for Iran was all “legal” and consisted of two Ukrainian electrical generators, plus “general cargo.”


But she paused at Pt. Said Egypt from February 6 and passed through Strait of Hormuz on February 27

Chariot: and sub K-152 bound for India

Alleged Russian arms ship and Russian nuclear-powered attack sub K-152 are both headed for India. India will become the world's sixth operator of a nuclear-powered submarine next month when Russia's K-152 Nerpa attack vessel reaches the country's shores ahead of its formal induction into the Indian Navy.

The submarine, christened INS Chakra, is expected to reach the Indian shores, with its home base as Visakhapatnam, anytime in March, according to navy officers here.

The other global naval powers operating nuclear-powered submarines are the US, Russia, Britain, France and China.

The attack submarine was handed over to the Indian Navy by Russia at a ceremony in the Far Eastern Primorye territory on Jan 23.

Codenamed Akula-II by NATO, the Project 971 Shchuka-B class vessel will be on a 10-year lease with the Indian Navy till 2022 under a contract worth over $900 million signed in mid-1990.

Under the deal, Russia trained Indian submariners on operating the Nerpa for over a month in the Pacific Ocean ahead of its handing over.

With a displacement of over 8,000 tonnes, the vessel can touch a maximum speed of 30 knots and can operate at a maximum depth of 600 meters.

The vessel can lurk in the deep sea without having to surface for 100 days waiting for its prey to appear and to strike hard at will.

Manned by a 73-member crew, the vessel is armed with four 533mm torpedo tubes and four 650mm torpedo tubes.

The Indian Navy operated a nuclear-powered submarine 1987-1991 when it had a Soviet-origin Charlie class vessel, also named INS Chakra, in its fleet. The submarine was returned to Russia after the three-year lease ended.

Nuclear-powered submarines, being silent killers, are considered key weapon platforms in view of the surprise element in case of an attack. They are an important part of India's nuclear doctrine, as these can help in completing the nuclear-weapon triad or the capability to fire nuclear arsenal from platforms over the land, air, and under the sea.

Though Nerpa was originally scheduled to join the Indian Navy in 2009, an unexpected on-board explosion in November 2008 when it was undergoing sea trials in the Western Pacific by the Russian Navy sailors resulted in the death of 20-odd personnel due to a toxic gas release.

India will add another nuclear-powered vessel to its submarine fleet in the next six to 10 months when the indigenously built INS Arihant that is undergoing trials joins the fleet.

Two more Arihant-class submarines, with miniaturised nuclear reactors designed and developed with Russian help, will join the naval fleet in the next four years.

India currently operates 14 conventional diesel-electric submarines. Of them, 10 are Russian-origin Kilo class vessels and four are German HDW vessels. back

Chariot: Russsian alleged arms ship to Gulf

The vessel long anchored and docked at Port Said has now turned on its AIS in the Persian Gulf

[January 12]The cargo ship MV Chariot, flying the St. Vincent and Grenadines flag, was en route from St. Petersburg to the Syrian port of Latakia carrying from 35 to 60 tons of ammunition and explosives meant for the Syrian Defense Ministry.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ship carried a “dangerous cargo,” but did not elaborate. According to the documents, the cargo sender was the Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport. “We have, as you know, asked for clarification from the Russian Federation. This was a subject of discussion with the Embassy. It was also raised by Deputy Secretary Burns when he was in Moscow,” Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.
“Our understanding is that the Russian side continues to look into who was responsible and what happened precisely,” she went on.

ex-ArcticSea, Chariot: alleged arms ships along side

Shelley Express Info Received: 0d 15h 47min ago at 3:20pm February 14(GMT) now on AIS
Chariot info Received: 4d 13h 56min ago at 3:22pmf February 14(GMT)now off AIS
2012-02-07 10:40 Chariot now docked in Port Said, to AIS at 2012-02-10. Shelley Express still off the air.
Shelley Express, ex-Arctic Sea, and Chariot, both alleged russian-controlled ships allegedly arms carriers in the past, were outside Port Said, Egypt, February 7 or were before they went off AIS within ten minutes of each other.

SHELLEY EXPRESS IMO: 8912792, Latitude / Longitude: 31.34497° / 32.29851° Info Received: 1d 5h 28min ago at 3:07pm Tuesday (GMT) back

CHARIOT IMO: 8302882, Latitude / Longitude: 31.35667° / 32.323° Info Received: 1d 5h 39min ago at 3:11pm Tuesday (GMT) back

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, current head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, announced that the GCC states have decided to withdraw all their ambassadors from Syria and also demand that all ambassadors of the Syrian regime in its lands leave immediately," said the six-member council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Chariot: Russian-owned vessel back in Aegean

After a dash for Russian waters, the vessel turned around and is past Izmir headed towards Turkey again. Chariot’s captain earlier confirmed the ship had arrived in Turkey from Tartus, Syria. Sources said last week in Cyprus at least 35 tons of munitions and explosive material were discovered and in Turkey that the vessel contained a cargo of bullets. Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said his country is not violating any international obligations by selling weapons to Damascus. "As of today there are no restrictions on our delivery of weapons," he told journalists in Russia, according to the country's state news agencies. "We must fulfill our obligations and this is what we are doing." "I found him relaxed and sure. He is confident in the Russian position," Wahhab told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar in an interview with Assad in Damascus published February 2. back