KRAKEN I

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Record quantity of cocaine found in ballast tanks

The Ecuadorian Police raided the "Kraken I" on May 11, 2017, and seized a record quantity of 5,53 tons of cocaine, stashed in 5070 packages, packed in 176 jute bags, said to be of $250 mil street value. The bags were found in the double bottom. The vessel had arrived at Santa Elena on May 4 to load a cargo bound for Panama, and then sail to Europe. It anchored off the Libertad Yacht Club, which in itself was like a red flashlight for local anti drug agents. A multinational gang of about 20 people, including Spanish, Colombian, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Honduras nationalities, was arrested. Spanish report with photos: http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2017/05/15/actualidad/1494834051_305260.html

Bulkcarrier and crew stuck in Barranquilla since months due to financial trouble

The "Agatis" is stranded in Barranquilla since Oct 24, 2015, due to owner problems. The 18 Crew members, all of Indian nationality, have not been paid for several months, and the vessel and crew were short of supplies. Local fishermen were supplying the crew with drinking water and food. The Barranquilla court gave the Deadline of Jan 31, 2016, to leave Colombian waters, though crew insisted they have to stay in Colombia until having got paid.

Indian crew stuck on abandoned ship off Cape Town

21 crewmen have been stuck off Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town since March 17, 2015, on the "Agatis". The vessel was on its way from Myanmar to Ivory Coast with a cargo of bulk-packed rice when it was diverted to Cape Town where it was arrested. The owners of the vessel, the Indonesian company Meranti Bahari PT, ran into financial difficulties and did not pay service providers. The shipping agent, Aquarius Maritime PTE Limited from Singapore, and a service provider in the UAE thus had the vessel arrested. Aquarius also failed to pay the crew for months which signed on to the vessel in Nov 2014. The December salaries were already late, the January salaries were late again, and this was also the last time they got paid. They did not have water to do laundry since one month, the drinking water is unhygienic and there was not enough water to flush the toilets. There was two months’ garbage on board. The crew contacted the International Transport Federation (ITF), but when the captain would not let the ITF’s local man Cassiem Augustus on board, he had to go to court with maritime lawyer Alan Goldberg from Rose Street Attorneys to get an order and found conditions on board were horrible. The only way the crew could go home right now would be if they rented a boat to take them into the harbour, and then organise and pay for their transportation back to India. But because they haven’t been paid, none of the men can do that. The "Agatis" could not enter the harbour because there was obviously nobody who would take responsibility for berthing and other fees. While the legal process runs its course, all the crew could do was to wait. Report with photo: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Seamen-stuck-in-vessel-off-Cape-coast-since-March-20150429