Irish ship owner denies knowledge of lethal cargo

ONE of the Irishmen named as an owner of the ship packed with explosives that was seized by Greek special forces has denied he had any involvement with the lethal cargo.

The ship, the Baltic Sea, had a cargo of 680 tonnes of TNT and 8,000 detonators when it was seized on Monday.

Last night, Niall Brady protested his innocence. Mr Brady, from Leehary, Crosserlough, Co Cavan, was named along with Pearse Christian (Chris) McNulty as directors of Unithorn Ltd, the Sligo-based company that owns the ship.

"I am the innocent party in all this. The first thing I knew about it was when my father told me he heard my name mentioned on the radio. I feel sick to my stomach and I want to clear my name," he said.

Mr Brady said he had innocently invested money in Unithorn Ltd. The registered address of Unithorn is Butler Lane, Kiltycahill, Hazelwood, Co Sligo. Mr McNulty has been under investigation by an anti-crime shipping organisation for decades.

"I invested the money after seeing an advertisement in the business press. I thought it was a legitimate enterprise. I didn't even know McNulty had bought this ship. I am not being investigated by anybody and I have not been contacted by any police orcustoms authorities."

Mr Brady said he and his girlfriend had already been in contact with Interpol in order to track Mr McNulty down.

Police believe him to be somewhere in Turkey. Mr McNulty's companies have been under investigation by the International Maritime Bureau in connection with a number of cargo scams andfailing to pay suppliers.

They have also been the subject of warnings issued by Bimco, a Danish-based organisation of shipping owners who control 60% of the world's merchant shipping.

The companies have featured regularly in Bimco bulletins, designed to warn of their reputation.

Son Larson, deputy secretary general of the organisation, confirmed yesterday they had issued warnings but declined to comment further.

TheBaltic Sky, was seized off the Greek coast following a tip-off from Nato naval forces.

Seven crew members five Ukrainian and two Azeri nationals were placed under arrest, pending investigation of the cargo's destination.

A police spokesman said the ship was carrying 680 tonnes of ammonia dynamiteand was purportedly bound for Tunisia.

Though the cargo may be legitimate, recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco have aroused suspicion.

Despite suspicions that the cargo may have been intended for terrorist use, garda sources said there was no suggestion of an IRA link.