Coastguard intercepts ship carrying explosive materials south of Crete

Euronews — Greek authorities have seized a Tanzanian-flagged ship heading for Libya and carrying materials used to make explosives, the coastguard said on Wednesday.

The vessel, which has set off from Turkey,was carrying 29 containers with detonators, ammonium nitrate and special gel, all materials that can be used in building bombs.

The “Andromeda” was intercepted off the coast of Crete and has been impounded in the port of Heraklion.

All eight members of the crew (five Ukrainians  two indians  and one Albanian) have  been detained.

Officially, Jibouti and Oman were the ship’s destinations, however there were no naval maps on board. During preliminary investigation by the Greek coast guard, the ship’s captain stated that he received an order by the vessel’s owner to unload and hand over the explosives in Misrata, Libya.

European Union and United Nations-imposed arms embargoes have prohibited the sale, supply or transfer of arms to Libya since 2011.