U.N. Official: Miscues Led to Kolkata Ship Debacle

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The Wall Street Journal

By Amol Sharma and Joe Lauria

AP Photo

The Aegean Glory, a Karachi-bound ship carrying military cargo, was detained by India on June 25.

A ship carrying 500 tons of weapons, much of which was destined for Pakistan, ended up in Indian waters off the coast of Kolkata as a result of “inadequate communication” by the ship’s captain and United Nations authorities with the Indian government, according to a U.N. official.

The vessel, the Aegean Glory, was transporting military cargo used in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia back to the countries that sent it, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The U.N. hired a private contractor, France’s Daher Group, to carry the materials, which included rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, explosives and military vehicles.

But India detained the ship last week because it wasn’t aware it was a peacekeeping vessel and wasn’t given a manifesto documenting the cargo that was headed to Pakistan.

The U.N. official said the incident was partly the fault of the ship’s captain, who didn’t follow the original plan for unloading goods in the countries.

“A unilateral decision to alter the route was taken without consultation of the U.N. – thus arriving in Bangladesh first and then proceeding to India (Kolkata). This resulted in the Pakistani cargo still being on board of the ship upon arrival in India (contrary to the original plan),” the official said.

The official did put some of the blame on the U.N. for not communicating better with the Indian foreign mission in New York.

An Indian official familiar with the situation said the Aegean Glory was still being detained near Kolkata on Thursday, but expects the ship to be let go soon since it is now clear this was a U.N. operation. Containers on the ship won’t be opened or searched, the official said.

But the Indian official questioned the use of private contractors to transport military cargo in such large quantities, given the threat of piracy. The Aegean Glory wasn’t staffed with any security forces, and the crew members weren’t carrying licensed arms to protect themselves, the official said. Daher Group, a frequent partner of the U.N. on such missions, did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.N. official said it is standard procedure to transport weapons shipments and troops by “commercial means through internationally organized tenders.” The official said the U.N. “tries to make sure that all shipments are secure.”