Alias: Iranian dry cargo ship deregistered w/18 more

MV Alias

Iranian owners of five dry cargo ships are taking steps to deregister the vessels in Hong Kong just days after the Marine Department sent a letter to owners of 19 Iranian ships asking them to register their vessels elsewhere.The owners who were sent the letters included Eternal Expert, which is the registered owner of the Alias, a 43,309 deadweight tonne handysize dry cargo ship.

Eternal Expert operates through Tehran-based Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management, which also manages 15 other Hong Kong-flagged ships. All are handysize vessels, specialising in carrying minor bulk cargoes such as fertilisers, ores and timber, and were built between 1984 and 1986.

The company and several key executives were the subject of tough restrictions imposed by the United States Treasury Department and European Union in October and December last year as part of wider sanctions against Iran.

US and European governments alleged the company was a front for Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which has been accused of being involved in the shipment of components of weapons of mass destruction.

Vessel Identification

Name: Alias
IMO: 8309608
Flag: Hong Kong (china)
MMSI: 477093400
Callsign: VREB2
Former name(s):
- Devotee (not Yet Confirmed)
- Iran Kashani (not Yet Confirmed)

Technical Data
Vessel type: Bulk Carrier
Gross tonnage: 25,768 tons
Summer DWT: 43,309 tons
Length: 189 m
Beam:

Negotiations for Sirius Star, ransom for HK bulker

"Negotiators are located on board the ship and on land. Once they have agreed on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker[Sirius Star]," said a man identified as Farah Abd Jameh on Al-Jazeera television, who did not indicate the amount to be paid.

"We assure the safety of the ship that carries the ransom. We will mechanically count the money and we have machines that can detect fake money," the man said on an audio tape produced by the Dubai-based television network.

His comments coincided with the release of the 1998-built, 27,383 dwt Great Creation, with 25 crew onboard, which was released today after being hijacked off Somalia on September 18.

Hong Kong’s Marine Department, which flagged the Sinotrans Shipping-owned vessel, said the ship was freed around 1000 hrs and was heading to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

A department spokesman said the crew comprising a Sri Lankan master, 23 Chinese seafarers and a Hong Kong turbine technician, were safe and the ship was undamaged.

The Great Creation was carrying chemical fertiliser from Tunisia to Pipavav in northwestern India when it was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

Kang Nam 5 cleared to leave Hong Kong

owners sent money,
Kang Nam 5, A newly repaired North Korean ship held in Hong Kong for two months for safety violations has been cleared to leave. The vessel's owners sent money last week to cover the repairs. here

North Korean ship Ponghwasan departs Hong Kong

Song Min-soon
A North Korean ship, named Ponghwasan, left Nampo in North Korea and has been sailing southward after fueling up at an outer port of Hong Kong. The United States and Japan suspect it of carrying military equipment, Song Min-soon, the chief South Korean presidential secretary for security affairs, said. here

North Korean Kang Nam V also detained by Hong Kong

Security Advisor to JWC
HONG KONG Hong Kong has detained a North Korean cargo ship — the second in less than a week — because the vessel failed a safety inspection. The Kang Nam V arrived empty on Wednesday from the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung. The ship had planned to carry scrap metal back to Taiwan.here
NORTH Korea could shortly be designated a war risk area. here The Joint War Committee, whose membership is drawn from 16 London market underwriters, focuses on hull war risk. Its main function is the maintenance and publication of its list of excluded zones. Operators of ships headed for countries that are on this list can expect to pay more for their insurance.here

Kang Nam I and the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)

USS Gary
The Kang Nam I is currently at anchor in the western district of Hong Kong Port. This ship departed Shanghai, China, on August 20, called at Indonesia, entered the Shanghai port, and then arrived in Hong Kong on October 14.The U.S. is not providing South Korea, which is acting passively on the PSI, information pertaining to the ships that sail around the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. here Since Hong Kong is a special administrative territory of the People’s Republic of China, the inspection suggests likelihood of further active participation of Beijing in sanctions against North Korea. here

USS Gary dispatched to trail North Korean ship

Kang Nam I A North Korean vessel suspected of carrying military equipment was searched and seized by authorities in Hong Kong, but no banned items were uncovered. The 2,035 t Kang Nam I is a cargo carrier, but it arrived in Hong Kong with an empty load. The U.S. was preparing for a confrontation and dispatched the guided-missile frigate U.S.S. Gary to the scene. U.S. and Japan had been trailing the vessel, which left Nampo port in South Pyongan Province and was passing southward through the South China Sea. here

KANG NAM-1, North Korean Freighter Detained

Hong Kong port
A North Korean ship that planned to deliver scrap metal to Taiwan was detained in Hong Kong for safety violations. The ship's detention was unrelated to recent U.N. sanctions on North Korea that call for searches of vessels sailing to and from the communist country, said Daisy Lo, spokeswoman for Hong Kong's Marine Department. here KANG NAM-1 is owned by Korea Kumrung Trading Co Ltd registered in Korea,Democratic People's Republic, built 1989, 702 tons, General cargo/multipurpose ship. here