A German freighter bound for Syria with a cargo of Soviet-model T-72 tanks was intercepted by a German navy frigate in the western Mediterranean last month and forced to return to a German port.
Legal action may be taken against the ship’s owners, government sources said.
A senior aide to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Bren Schmidbauer, said the incident should serve as a warning that Bonn fully intends to implement its new, more stringent regulations against the illegal export of arms.
According to information released here, the ship, Gotewind, loaded 16 T-72 tanks at a Polish port on Jan. 12. The tanks were manufactured in Czechoslovakia, which has had large-scale arms transactions with Syria.
They may have been part of a shipment specifically denounced last month by Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel, who vowed it would be the last.
Government sources here said about 300 tanks were involved in the deal. They implied that ships of various flags were transporting them, along with other weapons systems, ammunition and spare parts to Syria.
The Gotewind called briefly at Hamburg before sailing for Syria. It was intercepted in international waters near Malta by the German navy frigate Bremen, which was participating in NATO war games in the area.
The frigate used its two helicopters to locate the vessel with the illegal cargo. It was ordered to return to Germany and was reported due at Kiel or Hamburg in the next five days.
Legal experts here differ over whether the diversion was consistent with international law. But a government spokesman rejected criticism, saying the principle of preventing the illegal trafficking in arms took priority.
Meanwhile, an investigation has begun in Kiel into the activities of the Gotewind’s owners, the Karl-Heinz Basse shipping company, which is based in Rendsburg. The owners could face up to four years in prison if convicted of violating export regulations and transporting arms illegally.
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