Mumbai:
Indian security agencies recently stopped a ship going from China to Karachi at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port on suspicion that it was carrying a dual-use consignment. Which could have been used for Pakistan's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Both China and Pakistan have denied that any sensitive or objectionable material was present on the seized ship.
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Action was taken on the basis of intelligence input
Customs officers, acting on intelligence inputs, detained CMA CGM Attila, a Malta-flagged merchant vessel, at port on January 23 and inspected the consignment, which also included a Computer Numerical Control machine. It is originally manufactured by an Italian company.
Why was the consignment confiscated?
CNC machines are basically controlled by a computer and produce a level of efficiency, consistency and accuracy that is not possible manually. These are often used in missiles. CNC machines have been included in the Wassenaar system since 1996. It is an international arms control system, the purpose of which is to prevent the proliferation of equipment for civilian and military use. India is one of the 42 member countries that exchange information on transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use items and technologies.
This consignment weighs 22,180 kg
Port officials, along with intelligence, alerted Indian defense officials who inspected the heavy cargo and reported their suspicions, following which the consignment was seized. As per the bill of loading and other details of the consignment, the consignor's name was listed as “Shanghai JXE Global Logistics Company Limited” and the consignee's name was listed as “Pakistan Wings Private Limited” of Sialkot. According to officials, a thorough investigation by security agencies revealed that the consignment weighing 22,180 kg was sent by Taiyuan Mining Import and Export Company Limited and was meant for Cosmos Engineering in Pakistan.
India had also taken action in the year 2022
This is not the first case when Indian port authorities have seized such dual-use military-grade items being sent from China to Pakistan. Pakistani defense supplier Cosmos Engineering has been on the watch list since March 12, 2022, when Indian authorities intercepted a consignment of Italian-made thermoelectric equipment at the Nhava Sheva port. Expressing concern, officials said that Pakistan could use China as a medium to get banned items from Europe and America, thereby hiding the identity.
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