Lanka vows to rescue Jordanian ship crew

Colombo: Sri Lanka's military will mount an operation to rescue the crew of a Jordanian ship which drifted into waters near a Tamil Tiger stronghold, truce monitors said yesterday, the latest flashpoint in renewed fighting in the island.

The ship carrying a cargo of rice drifted off the Mullaittivu coast in the island's war-torn northeast early on Saturday after mechanical failure.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam earlier said the 25 crew of the Farah III were safe and that they were trying to arrange for their return through the International Red Cross.

The captain of the stricken vessel told Reuters over telephone from the de facto rebel capital of Kilinochchi that he and his crew were in good health.

"They have taken care of us, extended great hospitality," said Ramez Abdul Jabbar, the Iraqi captain of the ship which he said was now anchored off the Mullaittivu coast.

The head of the LTTE peace secretariat S.Puleedevan, said a meeting was being held with the Red Cross later yesterday to organise the crew's safe passage home.

"They are free and happy men ready to go home," Rasiah Ilanthirayan, a spokesman for the rebels, said by telephone from Kilinochchi.

Halal food

"They already had a meeting with the ICRC, which is facilitating their return," Ilanthirayan said.

Ilanthirayan said the crew had asked for halal food prepared in compliance with Islamic principles. The rebels, who are mostly Hindus, summoned some Muslim residents to help arrange for the food.

"After the halal arrangements, they had a good meal of chicken curry, salad and rice," Ilanthirayan said.

In Jordan, the general manager of ship owner Salam International Transport and Trading, Said Suleiman, said the captain, Ramez Abdul Jabbar, called the company and said the crew was being treated well and had been transferred to a small hotel.

"The captain told us that the crew will be released within the coming 48 hours and will be handed to the Red Cross and the government of Sri Lanka in the presence of the honorary counsel of Jordan," he said.

"The handover will take place on the borders between the Tamils and the government of Sri Lanka," he said.

But the Sri Lankan military has accused the Tamil Tigers of forcibly boarding the vessel while it was drifting in the seas, with its cargo of 14,000 tonnes of rice bound for South Africa from India.

International monitors overseeing a tattered 2004 ceasefire between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers also weighed in, saying the rebels must respect international law.

No delay

"The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has conveyed to the LTTE that the government will conduct a rescue mission to salvage the ship and its crew. SLMM has strongly advised LTTE to allow for this operation to be executed without any delay," the mission said in a statement.

The military said attempts to establish contact with the ship had failed and it was believed that the LTTE's Sea Tigers had disconnected the communication systems.

The crew consisted of Jordanians and Egyptians, the military said.

"The armed pirate act by the LTTE is a clear violation of international maritime laws and the navy has found it difficult to react due to the presence of the ship's crew," the military said.

The standoff over the ship comes at a time when the Tigers, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east, are locked in daily artillery duels with the military which has forced thousands to flee.

In fresh fighting yesterday, the rebels fired artillery and mortar bombs in Batticaloa area in the east, the military said, adding soldiers returned the fire.

More than 3,000 civilians, troops and rebel fighters have been killed so far this year in a series of ambushes, air raids, ground and naval battles and suicide bombings.