Monday, June 11, 2012

Russian billionaire’s ship suspected of carrying weapons to Syria

Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin’s shipping company is alleged to have transported a cache of weapons from St Petersburg to Syria on a containership that docked at the Port of Tartus on May 26, one day after the massacre of over 100 people there that included children as part of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on civil unrest.

The containership Professor Katsman is registered to North-Western Shipping Company, which is owned by Universal Cargo Logistics, one of Lisin’s businesses.

UCL confirmed last week that the containership had docked at the Syrian port but that it was not aware of the cargo sealed in containers on board that had been given a pass by Russian customs officials.

The ship’s documentation said the contents on board were “general cargo and equipment.”

There is currently no United Nations embargo against Syria, a measure that Russia has opposed, as UCL has said it did nothing illegal by delivering the alleged weapons cargo.

For the full Brisbane Times story: www.brisbanetimes.com.au

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