YLE is reporting that a cargo vessel containing 69 American made Patriot-missiles has been detained in Kotka harbour. The ship M/S Thor Liberty was sailing under Isle Of Man flag with Ukrainian crew on board and is owned by Danish firm Thorco Shipping A/S. The ship was coming from Germany to Finland to pick up anchor chains for delivery to China (anchor chains from Finnish steel are very expensive cargo).
The cargo also contained improperly stored nitroguanidine, classified as an explosive with a mass explosion hazard, which appears to have been the reason for stopping the ship. According to current understanding, Thor Liberty was supposed to deliver the explosives to Shanghai and according to unconfirmed reports was set to continue to South Korea from there. The over 150 tonne shipment of explosives was legal according to YLE's sources but it needs to be stored in shipping containers and should the anchor chains been loaded, a dangerous situation might have arisen.
Finnish interior minister Päivi Räsänen says that the cargo manifest listed the Patriot missiles as “fireworks” and that the containers bore a name of a South Korean individual. Product classification for fireworks and ballistic missiles obviously differs and the shipments of the latter are guided under ITAR laws. Minister Räsänen says that no transit permits for the missiles have been issues by the Finnish Defense Forces.
The news comes at a very volatile time in the Korean peninsula and also puts Finnish impartiality to a test. Russia is undoubtedly interested in seeing how the situation is dealt with. Currently the missiles have been turned over to Finnish Defence Forces and their fate is as of yet undecided. The National Bureau of Investigation and Finnish Customs are investigating the incident as an export violation and a maritime safety regulations violation.
***UPDATE ON JANUARY 6 2012, 09 AM LOCAL TIME***
After weeks of deliberation and ridiculous comments while sitting on a high-horse and spouting that all such issues must be tracked to a tee, everything ended with a whimper as Thor Liberty left Finland several hours ago. The missiles in question were (according to official statements) a part of a framework agreement between Germany and South Korea. Transit permits for the arms cargo were approved by the Finnish government yesterday. The captain and first-mate face charges of dereliction of maintaining seaworthiness. The matter of transporting military material without transit documents is still pending.
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