-Caveat Lector- http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,624196,00.html
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Hunt for 20 terror ships Martin Bright, Paul Harrisand and Nick Paton Walsh Sunday December 23, 2001 The Observer British and American intelligence services are hunting the world for at least 20 ships thought to make up a terrorist fleet linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, The Observer can reveal. Security and shipping sources said British, US and European intelligence services have been desperately searching for bin Laden's 'phantom fleet' amid fears the vessels could be carrying poisons, explosives or weapons. The ships were identified at least three months ago as a result of a joint intelligence operation thought to be led by the Norwegian security service and America's CIA with the help of international shipping registries. The search has been hampered by the controversial 'flags of convenience' system, under which many ships are registered as Panamanian, Liberian or Cypriot to avoid stringent checks on their crews and cargoes. News of the hunt broke as British anti-terrorist officers continue to search the London-bound MV Nisha, seized off the south coast of England on Friday in a dramatic raid by Royal Navy units, including the Special Boat Service (SBS). The ship, which lay off Sandown Bay in the Isle of Wight last night, was flying the flag of St Vincent and the Grenadines, in the West Indies. The tiny Caribbean nation has a population of just 111,000, but 1,336 vessels fly its flag. The boat was initially thought to be the first of the 20 ships to be boarded. No explosives or ammunition had been found by last night. The vessel was carrying raw sugar to a Tate and Lyle refinery on the Thames when an intelligence tip-off warned British authorities that it could be carrying 'terrorist material'. Whitehall sources moved to play down links between the Nisha and the worldwide search for the other ships, saying the boarding was a 'belt-and braces job' at a time of high alert. The dawn raid on the ship by the SBS and the Metropolitan Police Special Branch came after the tip off from a foreign intelligence service that a ship like the Nisha, carrying explosives, was due to dock in London. Shipping experts have expressed fears about the vulnerability of targets in the City of London to attack from the river. The Nisha would have passed Canary Wharf, the capital's highest building. Shipping unions last night said the system of controls for the international merchant shipping fleet was ripe for abuse by terrorists. 'We warned about this right after the 11 September attacks. There is a complete lack of regulation in the industry. Perhaps now people will start to listen to us,' said David Cockcroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation. Andrew Linington of the British National Union of Marine Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers called on the Government to tighten the UK port regulations. On almost every level, the system is open to abuse,' he said. US ports now demanded 96 hours notice before any ship docks and a full list of crew in advance. Britain should do the same, he said. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! Write to same address to be off lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
