A ship with a 680-ton load of explosives, currently being held by Greek authorities, embarked from a Middle-Eastern port, with its destination also in the region.
The rusting Baltic Sky left Gabes, Tunisia, on May 12, bound for Sudan. However, an initial investigation showed the Sudanese address on the manifest was merely a post office box.
For some, as yet unpublicized reason, the vessel failed to turn south into the Suez Canal to reach Sudan, instead wandering the Mediterranean for some six weeks.
Most of that time the ship was under international surveillance as it chartered Turkish and Greek waters.
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(University of Texas)
It is still unclear whether the ship is tied to a business deal or whether there is a fear the explosives were bound for terrorists.
Sudan says the ship was carrying ammonium nitrate, which was bound for road-building and cement-making factories.
The ship’s crew of seven from former Soviet states are being questioned.