1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Panama stops North Korean ship

July 16, 2013

Panamanian authorities have detained a vessel bearing a North Korean flag after finding weapons on board. The discovery reportedly unleashed a dramatic scene among the crew members.

This general view taken 11 August 2004 shows a ship sailing along the Miraflores Lake in the Panama Canal. The Canal's administrator, Alberto Aleman Zubieta, announced 07 December, 2004 in a press conference in Panama City that the passage fees for container cargo ships across the canal will be raised in 65 percent during the course of the next three years. AFP PHOTO/Teresita CHAVARRIA
Image: TERESITA CHAVARRIA/AFP/Getty Images

Crew members from a ship, believed to be North Korean, were detained near the Panama Canal early Tuesday after authorities had found what looked like missile parts. The vessel was said to have been travelling from Cuba.

Panamanian authorities boarded the ship near the port of Manzanillo, which lies on the Atlantic side of the 77-killometer canal (48 miles), to conduct a drug search, according to Panama President Ricardo Martinelli.

"We began to offload the sugar and we found two containers that apparently contain sophisticated rocket parts," President Martinelli told Panama Radio on Tuesday.

"The captain tried to commit suicide and the crew became rebellious," he added. It was not immediately clear where authorities had taken the captain following his suicide attempt.

"We're going to keep unloading the ship and figure out exactly what's inside," Martinelli said. "The world needs to sit up and take note: you cannot go around shipping undeclared weapons of war through the Panama Canal."

The president's spokesperson later said experts would analyze the contents to confirm their function, leaving open room for debate as to what authorities had indeed uncovered, according to the news agency AFP.

The international community has imposed sanctions on North Korea for its refusal to halt missile tests.Pyongyang launched a long-range missile last December which the US and its allies believe could one day deliver a nuclear warhead.

kms/rg (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW