Taiwan: Seized Phosphorus Pentasulfide Loaded for

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003199 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC, NP/CBM, NP/ECC FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC PARM PTER EWWT TW IT SUBJECT: Taiwan: Seized Phosphorus Pentasulfide Loaded for Shipment to Italian Manufacturer, Italmat Chemical, Ltd. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On 28 July, 2005, AIT/K Econoff and Economic Assistant observed the entire process of loading and moving 158 barrels of phosphorus pentasulfide which had been held in Kaohsiung Customs impound warehouse, located outside Kaohsiung Harbor, since its seizure by Taiwan Customs from the North Korean vessel, Be Gae-hung on 13 August 2003. The phosphorus pentasulfide was moved to the Yang Ming Line export container storage yard, located at wharf 70 in Kaohsiung Harbor's number 3 Container Handling Facility, for temporary storage prior to shipment to Italy, via Singapore and Egypt. The storage area is certified for storage of hazardous chemicals. While the overall operation was uneventful, AIT/K Econoff noted that one of the 158 barrels was lacking the manufacturer's tamper seal. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) A single forklift operator moved the sealed barrels from the Customs warehouse and loaded them into two 20-foot containers, with each container carrying 79 barrels. The two containers then were locked and sealed by Taiwan Customs officials. The containers were loaded by crane onto trucks and moved back to YML's container yard. The processing began at 1:00 pm and lasted until 7:00 pm. AIT/K staff observed the entire process from the opening of the warehouse to the final placement in Yang Ming's wharf 70 storage yard. Also present throughout the process were officials from Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade, Environmental Protection and Customs offices and senior staff from Yang Ming Line. ¶3. (SBU) During the loading phase, AIT/K Econoff noted that, while all barrels were still sealed with a barrel ring, one of the barrels was missing the manufacturer's tamper seal. Kaohsiung Customs officials said it must have been knocked off during handling. The seal could not be found in the holding area. ¶4. (SBU) According to YML executive, its vessel, the YM Plum, will transport the cargo as far as Singapore. It is scheduled to leave Kaohsiung Port on August 2 and arrive Singapore on August 5, where it will be transloaded to a vessel operated by Asian Mediterranean Shuttle Service (AMS),departing on 8 August. According to Yang Ming, all necessary clearances from the Singapore Government have been requested and received. It is scheduled to arrive in Port Said, Egypt on August 20. The cargo will remain on the AMS vessel for onward transit to Livorno, Italy via Genoa, Italy. It will depart Port Said on 21 August, transit Genoa, Italy on August 24th and 25th and arrive Livorno, Italy on the 26th of August. It will be delivered to the original manufacturer, Italmat Chemical Limited, in Livorno and then transported overland to the factory. (Comment: Yang Ming had no information on any interim destinations between Port Said and Genoa, but three days seems a long time for the passage. End comment.) Yang Ming had originally requested clearance from Italy to ship via Naples, but Italy refused permission to use Naples, citing terrorism concerns. ¶5. (SBU) Following is the shipping data for the consignment: - 158 barrels of Phosphorus Pentasulfide, total weight 39.5 Metric Tons - Container i.d. numbers YMLU 3041732 and YMLU 3073745 - Yang Ming Line's vessel, the YM Plum will ship the cargo ¶6. (SBU) The entire shipping schedule is as follows: Aug 2 depart Kaohsiung Yang Ming's YM Plum Aug 5 arrive Singapore Aug 8 depart Singapore on Asian Mediterranean Shuttle vessel AMS Glory Bridge Aug 20 arrive Port Said, Egypt Aug 21 depart Port Said, Egypt on AMS Glory Bridge Aug 24 arrive Genoa, Italy Aug 25 depart Genoa, on AMS Glory Bridge Aug 26 Livorno, Italy with shipment by ground transport to Italmat Chemical's facility. ¶7. (SBU) AIT/K staff will observe the loading of the containers onto the YM Plum on 2 August. AIT/K took numerous photographs of the entire loading and movement operation, and will forward the photos to AIT/T for dissemination to interested parties. Johnson Paal