BARLA

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Arms trafficking vessel was Turkish freighter Barla

As it came out, the arms trafficking vessel Turkish media was writing about, without mentioning her name, is a Turkish general cargo vessel Barla (thanks to Maritime Bulletin reader). As of Nov 20 vessel was in Black sea heading for Bartin, Turkey. Turkish police or some special agency was tipped off and on Nov 16 found on board of m/v Barla, anchored in Izmit Bay, two AK-47 rifles and small amount of ammunition. Vessel arrived from Russian port with cargo of scrap. Turkish media emphasized the fact, that vessel arrived from Russia, and omitted other details, like the name of the vessel and nationalities of the crew. All photos at http://www.odin.tc/news/read.asp?articleID=1543 First news: Unidentified Russian vessel arrested for arms trafficking, Turkey Sunday, November 18, 2012 Turkish media reported the arrest of Russian vessel for alleged arms trafficking on Nov 16 in Izmit Bay, by Kocaeli police. It is understood that the police and special forces were tipped off, arms presumably, were intended for Kurdish Working Party PKK. Police found in engine room two AK-47 and a small quantity of ammunition. 8 crew was arrested and interrogated, 6 were released and 2 remained in a custody. No details of the vessel are released, most probably it is prohibited by the authorities. It’s not clear whether the vessel is Russian, or just arrived from Russia, reportedly with scrap. There are some photos of the vessel in question during the police boarding, with discernable first two numbers of IMO number – 77. Obviously the AIS is off or inoperable, or the vessel could be figured out. Maritime Bulletin http://www.odin.tc