COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday expelled an Antigua-registered ship that entered the island’s territory without declaring a radioactive cargo bound for China.

The country’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Council said the MV BBC Naples was asked to leave after it was found to be in the Chinese-run port of Hambantota on Tuesday night carrying uranium hexafluoride.

“The ship failed to declare its dangerous cargo — uranium hexafluoride — and we decided to order it to leave our waters immediately,” council director general Anil Ranjith said.

The ship had come from Rotterdam but authorities did not say where in China it was headed.

Ranjith said it was an offence to enter a port without declaring the material, which is used to enrich uranium, the fuel for nuclear power stations and weapons.

Sri Lanka’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa demanded an investigation into the incident, describing it as a serious safety threat.

“The navy has not been allowed to board the vessel to carry out an inspection,” Premadasa said. There was no immediate comment from the government.

Hambantota port was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years after the Colombo government was unable to repay $1.4 million it had borrowed from Beijing to build it.

Hambantota, about 260 kilometres (162 miles) south of Colombo, is near key Indian Ocean shipping lanes.

The entry of two Chinese submarines into Colombo in 2014 angered neighbouring India, the traditional regional power which is competing with Beijing for influence in the Indian Ocean.

Since then, Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarine visits.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.