Seized Chinese ship isn’t just a cargo vessel: Sources

Rajkot: ‘Da Cui Yun’, the Chinese ship which was seized by the customs department a few days ago based on intel reports, has been found to be more than just a cargo vessel.
According to sources, the ship which was found to be carrying suspected equipment used in missile manufacturing had visited Deendayal port nearly 15 times in last one year to discharge consignments here and thereafter leave for Karachi to deliver cargo. In all earlier shipments, the vessel had declared the same cargo as ‘machinery’.
According to sources the vessel belonging to Hong Kong flag of China Ocean Shipping company limited (COSCO) visited Deendayal port at least twice in a month in the past one year. It carried windmill tower as its deck cargo, while it declared the under-deck cargo as machinery or project cargo. After unloading the windmill tower at Kandla, the vessel left for Karachi.
The sources further said that in the last one and half years, a few other multi-port vessels too have gone to the UAE, Gulf and Bahrain after unloading cargo at Kandla. “The loading port — Jiangyin port in China — has always always remained the same for the earlier ships, while the destination of most of the ships was Qasim,” the sources said.
The Defence Research and Development organization (DRDO) which is probing the seized cargo is also investigating into how many times the ship had been carrying such type of cargo.
According to sources the suspected cargo is discharged and taken to a warehouse of Deendayal port. After this, the vessel is released from berth and shifted to outer tuna buoy (OTB). The DRDO is investigating inside the warehouse.
Da Cui Yun started its journey from Jiangyin port in China in January. Around 10 days ago customs department seized the vessel suspecting it to be carrying equipment that is used in missile manufacturing which was meant for unloading at Karachi. The custom officials are tight-lipped on the investigation so far, terming it an issue of national security.