Antwerp Port Authority in Belgium received a bomb threat about a ship heading towards the port.
It was reported that a bomb threat was made regarding a ship heading to the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. The information was confirmed by the office of Annick De Ridder, the city councilor responsible for the port. “A tip has been received. The federal police are currently conducting the ongoing investigation. No further information has been provided at this time,” De Ridder said.
It was reported that a person who did not want to be named warned that there was an explosives-laden vehicle on the 5,018 teu container ship named MSC Bhavya V, which was heading to the port.
The Liberian-flagged ship, which left Hamburg on December 24, had previously called at Bremerhaven, Le Havre in France, Sines in Portugal and Nemrut in Turkey.
The incident is reminiscent of a similar bomb threat that occurred around the same time last year, when the 4,872 teu MSC Lorena was forced to reverse course and proceed to Vlissingen anchorage for investigation. While the bomb threat turned out to be false, authorities seized approximately 2.4 tons of cocaine on the ship coming from Senegal.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
#Bomb #threat #Antwerp #Port #Authority