TURKEY: DETENTION OF SCAN BOTHNIA A REMINDER OF

UNCLAS ANKARA 003671 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL PGOV IZ SUBJECT: TURKEY: DETENTION OF SCAN BOTHNIA A REMINDER OF STRAITS PASSAGE PROCEDURES ¶1. The British-flagged vessel Scan Bothnia, en route from Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates (UAE),was detained on June 9 at the port of Derince near the Bosporous by Turkish Coast Guard and Customs authorities on the suspicion that it was illegally smuggling US military equipment. ¶2. Acting on a media tip-off, Turkish authorities boarded the ship at Derince, a transit port, and found six military recovery vehicles and twenty crates of parts, inside of which were an additional six containers of machine guns. According to Turkish authorities, the weapons were not listed on the transit application form and, when questioned, the ship's captain did not acknowledge the presence of weapons on board. ¶3. Taos Industries, the US contractor for the heavy tracked recovery vehicles, contacted us on June 9 to request assistance in freeing the ship. The company provided documentation substantiating that the six vehicles and related parts, including defensive weaponry, were ordered by the US Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (USTACOM) for delivery to US forces in Iraq and eventual transfer to the Iraqi Security Forces. After confirming the bonafides of the company and placement of the order by TACOM, we requested MFA assistance to gain the vessel's release. On June 17, the vessel was released. ¶4. According to the MFA, the ship was detained because the ship's transit application form, which requires acknowledgment of the number and type of any weaponry contained in the cargo, only listed "general parts." We have notified Taos Industries, which has a contract for the delivery of up to 66 tracked recovery vehicles to US forces in Iraq, that all weaponry must be specifically listed on the transit application and should be acknowledged by the ship's personnel. ¶5. COMMENT: This avoidable oversight cost the ship a one-week delay in reaching its final destination and may result in additional delays in the UAE, where the vehicles are to be transferred to a US-flagged vessel for final delivery to Iraq. US military equipment has traversed the Turkish Straits previously without incident. The lesson of Scan Bothnia case is that contractors and/or shippers must clearly and properly notify the Turkish authorities of the military cargo they are carrying through the Bosporous. END COMMENT. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON