GOLD STAR

scrapped

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

picture from Beaching

picture from Aliaga https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwn_w7ahI9n/

Damaged drug smuggler in Pozzallo

After the Maltese fire-fighting vessel "Garibaldi" and Maltese and Italian patrol craft doused the fire on board the "Gold Star", the vessel was in Pozzallo, Sicily, by Sep 9. The ship arrived at Aliaga scrapyard anchorage on Feb 13, 2014. Environmental formalities were completed as of Feb 18 and beached to scrapyard on Feb 21.

Huge consignment of drugs found in cargo hold

The "Gold Star" had hashish werth £ 50million on board when being set on fire by its Syrian and Egyptian crew after being caught by a helicopter of the Italian coastguard in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian customs officials intercepted the "Gold Star" as it sailed off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean following a tip off that it was carrying a huge consignment of drugs and she had been followed for several days before the operation was launched. Besides a helicopter several fast patrol boats were used in the raid. After the fire was extinuished and the vessel towed to Syracuse on Sep 9, a search of theship revealed a massive consignment of drugs, 30 tons of hashish which had been loaded on board in Turkey. The ship was intercepted after intelligence was received that it was carrying drugs, but he authorities never expected such a huge consignment and for the crew to set her on fire which burned for 24 hours before it was finally put out The drugs were tightly packed into the living quarters at the stern of the ship, leaving the cargo hold open and empty, perhaps to allay suspicions. By the time the fire - which destroyed the stern of the ship - was put out, only some of the 30 tonnes remained intact. What was recovered was only a small portion but even that measured four metres, by two metres by 1.5 metres. The officers who boarded the ship needed to wear gas masks to avoid being overcome by smoke. The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority’s Manager said there were two registration books, one in the Mainland and the other one in Zanzibar. The vessel may be registered in Zanzibar. Records of the Tanzania Zanzibar International Register of Shipping showed that the ship was registered there on October 15, 2011 and that it was owned by a South African company. Report with photos and video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10294351/Smugglers-send-flaming-marijuana-cargo-drifting-across-Mediterranean.html