VZCZCXRO8773
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHSL
DE RUEHNE #1668 2221518
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101518Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7652
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNNSG/NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7872
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 3602
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1521
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6440
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1780
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8365

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 001668 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP KN IN
SUBJECT: INDIA DETAINS SUSPICIOUS DPRK VESSEL FOR 
INVESTIGATION 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed 
August 8 that the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the 
DPRK-flagged merchant vessel MUSAN and detained its 39 crew 
members after the vessel unexpectedly dropped anchor off Hut 
Bay at Little Andaman Island August 5, failed to respond to 
attempts to hail it, and then evaded a Coast Guard patrol 
vessel for six hours in the early hours of August 6.  The 
Coast Guard vessel fired a warning shot to force the MUSAN to 
comply with its order to sail to Port Blair.  As of August 
10, the vessel and its crew were in Coast Guard custody in 
Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while under 
investigation by Indian security agencies.  The Indian 
Government dispatched a special team of officials from the 
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Army intelligence, 
including translators, to assist with the investigation. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Navy Chief Sureesh Mehta reportedly told media 
August 9 that the vessel had "no business" being at the 
location where it anchored, but that the preliminary 
investigation had shown that it was carrying "genuine 
merchandise."  According to media reports, the ship set sail 
from a port in Thailand on July 27 with a cargo of 16,000 
tons of sugar.  According to Coast Guard contacts, the crew 
claimed the vessel was carrying sugar bound for Iraq, but 
changed course when it received new instructions to offload 
instead in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.  Media reported August 9 
that the ship's captain, Yun Jonge Sun, claimed a mechanical 
problem led to its illegal entry of India's territorial 
waters. 
 
¶3. (U) The Times of India August 9 portrayed the incident as 
a failure of India's coastal defense and "the most 
sensational security breach since the Mumbai attacks".  A 
front page article claimed that the North Korean vessel went 
unnoticed for two days after it dropped anchor.  A passenger 
on a ferry reportedly spotted the vessel in an isolated 
stretch of sea and alerted the ferry captain, who informed 
the harbor master, who tipped off the Indian Coast Guard and 
the Navy.  The article reported that investigators found that 
the ship had made several voyages between North Korea and 
China without maintaining proper records, as well making an 
unscheduled stop in Singapore, though the crew's passports 
were not stamped there. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Post will continue to seek further details. 
Regardless of the manner in which the vessel's presence came 
to light and the outcome of the on-going investigation, Post 
views India's decisive action as a positive sign of its 
intention to enforce UNSCR 1874 and its continuing 
cooperation on counter-proliferation. 
ROEMER