Arms ship 'sparks media frenzy'

2008-04-17 14:22

Durban - The SA Police Services (SAPS) and the SA Revenue Services (SARS) were on Thursday sending their top public relations officers to Durban to deal with media enquiries surrounding a Chinese ship carrying weapons destined for Zimbabwe.

Both national police spokesperson Captain Dennis Adriao and SARS spokesperson Adrian Lackay told Sapa that they were on their way to Durban and would comment on the ship once in Durban.

Enquiries over the contents of a cargo of arms aboard the An Yue Jiang have sparked a media frenzy, however various government departments have declined to comment over the ship and its cargo.

Noseweek editor Martin Welz told Sapa on Wednesday that "the cargo ship was openly delivering a containment of arms for Zimbabwe".

He said that he had copies of all the documents.

The controversial cargo packed into 3 080 cases includes three million rounds of 7.62mm bullets (used in the AK47 assault rifle), 69 Rocket Propelled Grenades as well as mortar bombs and tubes.

Welz said: "It's very detailed and even has the phone numbers."

Scheduled berthing cancelled

Questions over when the ship was set to dock have also arisen. Sapa learnt that the ship was due to dock at 08:00 at the Durban Container Terminal on Thursday morning, but sources told Sapa that its scheduled berthing had been cancelled.

Spokesperson for the Durban Container Terminal, Lunga Ngcobo, said she could not immediately provide details on when the ship was due to dock.

She referred enquiries to Transnet.

Transnet spokesperson John Dludlu said on Wednesday in a statement that the ship had been cleared to dock in Durban's harbour.

However he declined to comment on the ship's cargo or when it would dock in Durban's port.

Attempts to contact Dludlu on Thursday were unsuccessful.

A number of police sources said they had been instructed not to talk to the media.

Asked whether officers had received such an instruction not to talk to the media, Adriao, said: "Not at all. They can talk to anyone as long as they talk in their sphere of influence."

The ship's master, who on Wednesday identified himself as Captain Sunaijun, on Thursday declined to talk to Sapa.

A controller at the Cape Town radio control through whom the call was made, said: "Are you from the media? He (Captain Sunaijun) doesn't want to take any more calls from reporters."

'Government has completely lost the plot'

On Wednesday Sunaijun told Sapa that there was "no dangerous cargo on general cargo".

Asked if there was cargo destined for Zimbabwe, he confirmed there was.

Wang Kun Hui, the managing director for the Cosren Shipping Agency said he was not sure when the ship would dock in Durban's harbour.

Earlier on in Cape Town, government communications head Themba Maseko said the country could not stop the shipment from getting to its destination as it had to be seen to be "treading very carefully" in its relations with Zimbabwe, given the complexity of facilitating talks between the Movement for Democratic Change and Zanu-PF.

The Democratic Alliance defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah said the government's approval to allow the arms to be shipped was "the surest sign yet that government has completely lost the plot on the Zimbabwe issue".

He said: "The government is also legally obliged to act. According to the National Conventional Arms Control Act, anyone who conveys, freights, or transfers conventional weapons is required to apply for a conveyance permit, and permits must only be granted by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) after considering how those weapons will be used."

Attempts to determine whether the conveyance permit had been issued by the NCACC were unsuccessful.

Provincial and Local Government minister Sydney Mufamadi heads the NCACC and his spokesperson Zandile Ratsitanga could not be reached for comment.

- SAPA