Seizure of Greek ship shows harder anti-terrorist watch at sea

ATHENS, Greece -- In a sign of sharper anti-terrorist scrutiny at sea, NATO said Tuesday it triggered a regional alert that led Greek commandos to seize a cargo ship carrying a huge shipment of explosives bound for Sudan.

A dispute continued over whether the ship, the Baltic Sky, was involved in legal commerce or something more sinister. But the multinational operation to track and capture the vessel demonstrated officials' greater vigilance in an era of increased terrorist threats.

"The Baltic Sky incident is certainly part of a post-9/11 focus on tracking the oceans," said Rod Craig, a maritime analyst for the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "Countries are on high alert now for any suspicious ship."

About 15 NATO vessels -- backed by submarines, surveillance planes and helicopters -- monitor the eastern Mediterranean shipping lanes for vessels with possible ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and other terror groups.

The Baltic Sky loaded 750 tons of industrial-grade ammonium nitrate-based explosives and 140,000 detonators in Tunisia on May 12. Records identify the purchasers as a Sudanese company, which insists the material is for road construction and other legitimate projects.

From North Africa, the ship headed toward Istanbul, Turkey, and the Black Sea, officials said.

'Will get noticed'

"This is just the type of vessel that will get noticed," said Craig.

NATO tipped off the Greeks and others in the region in early June that the vessel was "operating in an abnormal and suspicious pattern," said Lt. Cmdr. Harvey Burwin, a spokesman for the alliance's task force, Operation Active Endeavor.

The ship was impounded Sunday after entering Greek territorial waters. Its seven-member crew -- five Ukrainians and two Azerbaijanis -- are scheduled for arraignment today on charges of failing to inform Greek officials of the dangerous cargo.

The 37-year-old Baltic Sky is not on the NATO "black list" of ships with possible terrorist links, Greek Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Anomeritis said.

But it bears hallmarks that raise its profile among terrorist hunters: flying a so-called flag of convenience from Comoros, name changes and its destination -- Sudan -- where bin Laden once lived.

"It's still too early to know whether this was a shoddy and risky -- but not illegal -- voyage or something much more dangerous," said David Cockroft, general secretary of the London-based International Transport Workers' Union, which tracks shipping developments.

What they know is that Greek naval forces "have done what they had to by investigating a ship whose flag alone sends out danger signals," he added.

Greek army demolition experts unloaded 140,000 detonators from the ship anchored at Platiyali, about 150 miles northwest of Athens.

Tunisia's interior minister, Hedi Mhenni, said the explosives were part of a "perfectly legal" commercial transaction, echoing comments from the company in Sudan that ordered the material.

"It has nothing to do with terrorism," said Essam Bakry al-Khalifa, director of Khartoum-based Mutakamila Company for Chemicals and Development Ltd.

He showed reporters documents indicating the company opened in November 2002, seeking to counter Greek claims that it was little more than a post office box.

Anomeritis, the Greek merchant marine chief, said he has suspicions about the company's claims about the explosives. "Such a huge quantity is inconceivable to be headed toward a private company, a construction company for example," he told Flash radio in Athens.

Other Greek authorities tried to distance themselves from any terrorist-related accusations and repeated the charges facing the crew.

"The destination does not interest us," said government spokesman Christos Protopappas. "What interests us is that the ship, which had a dangerous cargo, entered Greek territorial waters without notification."