North Korean ship with 'military cargo' held by Panama

[Robert J Smith]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23324170

[Captain Ted]

what I don,t get,, if they really smuggle something like missiles or parts of them,,why to go through the PanCan,,go around the Horn or via Good Hope.  Fishy the whole thing.

[PHa]

German internet-site SPIEGEL ONLINE published following photos:

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/verdaechtiger-waffenfund-kuba-panama-nordkorea-fotostrecke-99209.html

Ships details as per miramar-data:
Name: CHONG CHON GANG        
Type: Cargo ship
IMO-No.: 7937317        
Flag: PRK    
Date of completion: July 1977
Tons: 9.147     
DWT: 14.000        
Length overall: 155,4 m
Beam: 20,5 m    
Country of build: PRK
Builder: Nampo Shipyard
Location of yard: Nampo (PRK)

Regards Peter

[Dave Forbes]

Why use a 36-year old vessel to carry arms and military equipment?...because it had been smuggled and if the boat was caught...and it was , the vessel could easily be discarded for scrap value. It was a bit silly of the Master to even think of aiming for the Panama Canal , one of the world's maritime choke points. Who smells a rat?

[Captain Ted]

Dave
Masters do not decide if they go PanCan or not,,that the charterers do and in this case most probably the N-Korean gov.  Those sailors don,t go to the toilet without permission from the gov !!!!
With the age of the ship you have a good point. I read in the news a claim by NK that those
were missle parts, old at that, for overhaul. Question is then,,why it was not declared if it were really such and harmless !!
Makes one think what is really behind it ?

[Lars Brunkman]

Perhaps it's just a decoy? Let an old vessel go through the Panama Canal with some harmless (useless?) missile part, get caught and attract all the attention while the real deal pass unnoticed round the Horn or Good Hope.

[miraflores]

News from BBC today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-23408356

[Captain Ted]

Interesting in the BBC news.
This way or that way, pretty much wrong there. If those missiles/migs are obsolete,,why then store them under sugar bags and seemingly not declaring the container as cargo when
transiting the canal.
the way it reads they were not part of the declared cargo. therefore to be considered as smuggled goods.
What is really behind,,who knows, surely would be interesting to know

[davidships]

Cubas' functioning military hardware is not exactly plentiful, and I doubt whether they would give away anything that works to PRK.  The value of this to the Koreans may only be as spare parts that they cannot get anywhere else so easily.  Don't think the idea of a Cuban "decoy" is particularly credible. 

Mind you, if the three Venezuelan frigates don't turn up at Maracaibo for the party on Wednesday.......  Fortunately we have Capt Ted with a grandstand seat - see discussion below http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1841685.

Incidentally, dreadful standards of English in the BBC piece.  For example "The ship disappeared from satellite tracking systems after it left the Caribbean side of the canal, resurfacing on 11 July".  Do they think CHONG CHON GANG is a submarine?