Harmony Wish: transported TELs to North Korea?

Missile launch vehicles, called TELs – for transporter, erector, launcher were shipped from Shanghai to North Korea last August on board the Harmony Wish, a Cambodian-flagged cargo vessel. Japanese authorities tracked the ship by satellite and searched it after it had delivered its cargo, when it transited through Japan the following month,  Although no suspicious vehicles were on board the ship when it was searched in Japan, authorities found documents detailing the cargo it had unloaded in North Korea, which included the vehicles,   The UN security council imposed sanctions against North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006, stepping them up after a second test in 2009 to try to derail the country's rogue nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. The sanctions restrict exports of weapons or technology that could be used to boost those programmes.   


8853776 HARMONY WISH XUNB8 General Cargo Ship 1991




Name: Harmony Wish
IMO: 8853776
Flag: Cambodia
MMSI: 515251000
Callsign: XUNB8
Former name(s):
- Hoei Maru (Until 2008 Jul 31)

Technical Data
Vessel type: Grab Dredger
Gross tonnage: 1,999 tons
Summer DWT: 3,720 tons
Length: 85 m
Beam: 13 m
Draught: 4.5 m



Additional Information
Home port: Phnom Penh
Class society: Inclamar
Build year: 1991
Builder*: Kamishima Shipbuilding
Osakikamijima, Japan
Owner: Harmony Growing Shipmanagement
Dalian, China
Manager: Harmony Growing Shipmanagement
Dalian, China

Arctic Sea: nature of the cargo was the key

Las Palmas harbour master, under instruction from the Spanish government, rejected the request," of the Arctic Sea and its tug to dock. A Spanish diplomat admitted that the nature of the cargo was the key question in talks between Spain and Russia. "The ship's cargo is the most important aspect of the negotiations. It is not just about bureaucratic procedures involving the entrance of a ship into Spanish waters," the diplomat said.

" S-300 on board the Arctic Sea ...a complete lie,"

"The presence of S-300 on board the Arctic Sea cargo ship is a complete lie,"
Russia has until recently delayed the implementation of a 2007 deal with Iran on the supply of S-300s. The contract is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Speaking in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed media speculation about S-300 missiles on board the Arctic Sea as "groundless"; reports that the ship had illegal arms on board were "absolutely untrue".

"The best means to apply outside pressure on Iran's decision-making process lie not in isolating Tehran or threats of resorting to force, but in involving it in an important international cooperation."

But see The ministry said that, when the ship was intercepted, its captain claimed it was the North Korean vessel Chendin-2, and was headed from Havana to Sierra Leone with a cargo of palm wood.

It said North Korea had asserted that was impossible, saying the Chendin-2 was docked at an Angolan port at the time.
And"The vessel had all the necessary modern means of communication and emergency alarms, and was located in waters where ordinary mobile telephones work," said Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht.

Arctic Sea: cargo tipped into the Atlantic

Published reports quote an anonymous high-ranking Russian Navy source who claims the pirates are believed to have been recruited as stooges by the intelligence services of a European Union country to intercept the ship and thwart the delivery of the missiles, according to a Russian newspaper, citing secret services sources in Russia. The paper suggested that the illegal cargo may have been tipped into the Atlantic, or have been secretly unloaded by the Russian navy which found the ship close to the Cape Verde islands off the west coat of Africa.

Some maritime security experts suspect the men had not been on the ship at all, but were part of an elaborate cover-up. The Russians seem to be treating the Arctic Sea as a pirate ship, rather than a ship captured by pirates. The Basmanny District Court has issued a writ seizing the ship, and the Russian navy is towing the vessel to Novorossiysk, apparently without stopping to unload its timber in Algeria. And rather than being released, the crew has apparently been detained in Moscow for what Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee, called “urgent interrogation.”

VC-flagged Irene E.M in the middle of the night

The Irene E.M was attacked and seized in the middle of the night Tuesday The M.V. Irene E.M., a Greek-managed bulk carrier sailing from the Middle East to South Asia was flagged in the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (VC) and carried 23 Filipino crew
IRENE E.M
Vessel's Details:
Ship Type: Cargo
Year Built: 1980
Length x Breadth: 0m X 0m
DeadWeight: 35025 MT
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 11.7 / 10.6 knots
Flag: St Vincent Grenadines [VC]
Call Sign: J8B2571
IMO: 7433593, MMSI: 377177000

ANRAL SHIPPING LTD.

US List of Malta-flag Iranian-owned cargo ships

3. BRIGHTNESS (a.k.a. IRAN BRIGHTNESS) General Cargo 24,065DWT
16,621GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9051648 (vessel)[NPWMD].
20. ELEVENTH OCEAN Container Ship 41,962DWT 36,014GRT Malta flag
(IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9209324 (vessel)
[NPWMD].
21. FIFTH OCEAN Container Ship 79,030DWT 75,395GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9349667 (vessel) [NPWMD].
41. IRAN BRAVE General Cargo Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration
Identification IMO 9051650 (vessel) [NPWMD].
67. IRAN KERMAN Container Ship 41,978DWT 36,014GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9209350 (vessel) [NPWMD].
89. IRAN TUCHAL Container Ship 66,900DWT 53,453GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9346536 (vessel) [NPWMD].
94. LUCKY LILY (a.k.a. IRAN LUCKY LILY) General Cargo 22,882DWT
15,670GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9165827 (vessel) [NPWMD].
95. LUCKY MAN (a.k.a. IRAN LUCKY MAN) General Cargo 22,882DWT 15,670GRT
Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9165839
(vessel) [NPWMD].
96. MIR DAMAD Container Ship 5,012DWT 4,276GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9148491 (vessel) [NPWMD].
97. MIR EMAD Container Ship 5,012DWT 4,276GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9148518 (vessel) [NPWMD].
100. NEW STATE (a.k.a. IRAN NEW STATE) Container Ship 41,937DWT
36,014GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9209336 (vessel) [NPWMD].
101. NINTH OCEAN General Cargo 22,882DWT 15,670GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9165798 (vessel) [NPWMD].
102. OCEAN CANDLE (a.k.a. IRAN OCEAN CANDLE) General Cargo 23,176DWT
16,694GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9167253 (vessel) [NPWMD].
104. PRETTY SEA (a.k.a. IRAN PRETTY SEA (KHUZESTAN)) General Cargo
Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9167277
(vessel) [NPWMD].
107. SABALAN (a.k.a. IRAN SABALAN) Container Ship 66,900DWT 53,453GRT
Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9346524
(vessel) [NPWMD].
108. SAHAND (a.k.a. IRAN SAHAND) Container Ship 66,900DWT 53,453GRT
Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9328900
(vessel) [NPWMD].
110. SEA BLOOM (a.k.a. IRAN SEA BLOOM) General Cargo 23,176DWT
16,694GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9167291 (vessel) [NPWMD].
111. SEA FLOWER General Cargo Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration
Identification IMO 9167289 (vessel) [NPWMD].
112. SEA STATE (a.k.a. IRAN SEA STATE) General Cargo 23,176DWT
16,694GRT Malta flag (IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO
9167265 (vessel) [NPWMD].
113. SEVENTH OCEAN General Cargo 22,882DWT 15,670GRT Malta flag
(IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9165786 (vessel)
[NPWMD].
116. SIXTH OCEAN Container Ship 79,030DWT 75,395GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9349679 (vessel) [NPWMD].
118. TENTH OCEAN General Cargo 22,882DWT 15,670GRT Malta flag (IRISL);
Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9165815 (vessel) [NPWMD].
119. TWELFTH OCEAN Container Ship 41,971DWT 36,014GRT Malta flag
(IRISL); Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9209348 (vessel)

Zhenhua 4: Once more, without Germans

Nine pirates boarded the Zhenhua 4 on Dec. 31, 2008, but were forced off the ship by Capt Peng Weiyuan and his crew after they mounted an unexpected fightback.
"We had a lot of beer bottles and we made a lot of cocktail [petrol] bombs," said Capt Peng. "We were well prepared. We threw them at them.

"After the first attack they retreated but somehow they got very good weapons - anti-tank weapons - which they fired at us, and succeeded in coming up to our living quarters.

"They came to the first platform which is very close to our living quarters.

"We were locked inside and the door was very thick. They were shouting 'open the door'. So we climbed further up and we used everything to threaten them, bottles, petrol.

"Eventually we used high-pressure water cannon to shoot at them. They were also shooting at us and one bullet passed me about 10in (25cm) away.

"Eventually they retreated, they couldn't fight any more. There was smoke, there was fire."
The captain described how the defeated pirates made some unexpected requests as they prepared to leave the Zhenhua 4.

"The head of the pirates said 'stop, stop, we can't go on fighting any more. Let us go'. And I said: 'We will let you go. Leave our ship'."
Photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, which says it shows pirates aiming weapons at the deck of the Chinese ship Zhenhua on 17/12/08
The pirates were well-armed, the ship's captain said

Mr Peng said that the pirates then asked for shoes because they were barefoot and the deck was covered in broken glass.

Pairs of leather shoes were thrown to them and the pirates retreated - only to return a few minutes later asking for fuel for their speedboats.

Capt Peng added that while the fighting was going on [German]helicopters appeared overhead and started firing at the pirates.

"They helped us succeed," he said.

Israel planned to sink Syrian-bound freighter

When a freighter anchored at Casablanca for refueling, in 1991, Mossad planted a palm-sized electronic device weighing about 1 kilogram on the stern of the vessel's hull about one meter below the waterline, an electronic tracking and targeting device, because freighter was suspected of carrying at least 23 Scud-C missiles (with a firing range of about 500 kilometers). here

Dai Hong Dan hijacked, USN helps wounded crew

North Korea's MV Dai Hong Dan cargo vessel, which was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia late last month, docks in the Red Sea port of Aden in southern Yemen, 05 November 2007. The US Navy abandoned the ship off the Somali coast last week despite a call for its detention for alleged involvement in "suspicious activities," according to a US Navy official. A US Navy destroyer was earlier tracking the MV Dai Hong Dan after engaging pirates who had hijacked the vessel, helping the crew to regain control.

No. 9 Han Chang ends nuclear confrontation

North Korea told the United States July 14 that it had shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and readmitted a permanent international inspection team, completing its first step toward reversing a four-year-long confrontation with the United States. Rice and Mr. Hill worked around Mr. Cheney to strike the deal, which awarded the North large shipments of oil as it took the first steps to end its nuclear production capacity.

The United States also cleared the way for the return of $25 million frozen in a Macao bank that the administration had said was largely North Korea’s ill-gotten gains from counterfeiting and arms sales. A South Korean ship, No. 9 Han Chang loaded with 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil arrived at Sonbong, a port in northeastern North Korea, on July 14,

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 Ships Dropping Cambodian Flag

North Korean freighter Sosan
Dozens of North Korean ships used to carry the Cambodian flag.
North Korea adroitly uses flags of convenience to camouflage the movement of its cargo vessels as they engage in tasks that sometimes violate international laws.
Times