(The Times of India) NKorean ship entered India due to mechanical fault: Captain

NKorean ship entered India due to mechanical fault: Captain
PTI 8 August 2009, 01:38pm IST

PORT BLAIR: The North Korean cargo ship which illegally entered the country's territorial waters had done so due to mechanical problems, its captain claimed on Saturday.

The captain said this during interrogations, according to sources in the Coast Guard (CG), which intercepted the sugar-laden ship near Little Andaman island, 200 nautical miles south of here.

The interrogation of the captain, whose name was not given out, and that of the ship's 38 other crew was continuing here and more details are expected.

The ship has been detained under heavy security at Little Andamans, where it was spotted anchored, the sources said.

'M V San' carrying 16000 mt sugar from North Korea to the Middle East was intercepted by the CG on Wednesday at around 5 pm after it was spotted without information to the authorities either of its route plan or its anchoring inside the country's territorial waters.

As the Navy and CG's efforts for a radio response from the vessel failed, the CG sent out one of its aircraft to check on the vessel. A radio signal from the aircraft too did not get a reply, forcing the Navy and CG to send their patrol ships to the vessel.

Navy and CG personnel visited the cargo vessel, boarded and conducted a search on it. Later, the vessel was seized and brought here for questioning of its crew members, the sources said.