Greece intercepts Libya-bound ship carrying explosives from Turkey

The Greek Coast Guard seized on Wednesday a Tanzania-flagged freighter off the coast of Crete carrying explosive materials from Turkey to Libya's Misurata.

"After the entire cargo was unloaded, a check was carried out confirming the contents of the 29 containers (explosives - detonators and other equipment)," the Coast Guard said in a press release. "This cargo as well as the ship in question were seized."

Coast Guard Rear Admiral Yiannis Sotiriou told reporters that authorities "deactivated a moving bomb," according to state agency ANA.

Mr. Sotiriou added that the Tanzania-flagged freighter Andromeda, seized on January 6, was found to have dozens of structural issues and should not have been at sea.

"It could have had unpredictable consequences on people and the environment," he said.

The ship captain claimed to have been sailing to Djibouti but it later emerged that the actual destination was the Libyan port of Misrata.

The eight-man crew, which included two Ukrainians, five Indians and one Albanian national, will be taken before a prosecutor on Thursday.

With reporting by AFP