US sinks boat with 70 tonnes of ‘explosive materials’

TEHRAN: The US Navy said on Tuesday it found 70 tonnes of a missile fuel component hidden among bags of fertiliser aboard a ship bound for Yemen, the first-such seizure in that country’s yearslong war as a cease-fire there has broken down.

The Navy said the amount of ammonium perchlorate discovered could fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles, the same weapons Yemen’s Houthi rebels have used to target both forces allied to the country’s internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition that supports them.

The Houthis and Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.

“This type of shipment and just the massive volume of explosive material is a serious concern because it is destabilising,” Commander Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet, said.

“The unlawful transport of weapons to Yemen leads to instability and violence.” The US Coast Guard ship USCGC John Scheuerman and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans stopped a dhow (traditional wooden sailing vessel) on Nov.8, the Navy said.

During a weeklong search, sailors discovered bags of ammonium perchlorate hidden inside of what initially appeared to be a shipment of 100 tonnes of urea. Urea, a fertiliser, also can be used to manufacture explosives. The dhow was so weighted down by the shipment that it posed a hazard to nearby shipping in the sea.

The Navy ended up sinking the ship with much of the material still on board due to the danger, Hawkins said. The Sullivans handed over the four Yemeni crew members to the country’s internationally recognised government on Tuesday.

Asked how the Navy knew to stop the ship, Hawkins only said the Navy knew through “multiple means” that the vessel carried the fuel, bound for Yemen. He declined to elaborate.

“Given the fact it was on a route usually used to smuggle illicit weapons and drugs to Yemen really tells you what you need to know,” Hawkins said. “It clearly wasn’t intended for good.” A UN arms embargo has prohibited weapons transfers to the Houthis since 2014.