Touska

China has denied having any connection with the 'Touska', allegedly loaded with chemicals used to manufacture missile-based weapons. It qas claimed that the ship seized was headed from China to Iran and was carrying chemical shipments to make missiles, refusing repeated orders to stop. The Chinese Foreign Ministry statwed that the vessel seized by the US is a foreign container ship. China rejected any false association and speculation.

Iran has urged the UN to press the USA to immediately and unconditionally release the 'Touska' along with its crew and their families. Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, raised the demand in a letter sent on April 22 to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council. Iravani said US forces captured the 'Touska' near Iran’s coast, calling it a hostile and unlawful act, which involved coercion, intimidation and reckless endangerment of the crew and their families. The ambassador said the seizure of a civilian commercial vessel violated core principles of international law, including the prohibition on aggression. Intimidation and psychological pressure placed on the crew and their families made the incident even more serious. He described the seizure as maritime piracy and warned that it posed a threat to the safety and security of vital shipping routes, carrying the characteristics of aggression under a relevant UN General Assembly resolution. He further argued the action breached the ceasefire announced by US President Trump on Apri 7l and posed a serious threat to regional and international peace and security. Iran urged the UN to condemn the incident, hold those responsible accountable and press Washington to release the vessel and everyone on board. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the incident, describing it as an act of terrorism. There was no immediate response from the United States to Iran’s appeal.

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council president on April 21, Iran's ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that US military forces on April 19 carried out a hostile and illegal attack on the 'Touska' near Iranian waters in the Sea of Oman, using coercion, intimidation, and reckless endangerment of the crew. Iravani, writing on instructions from Tehran, called the attack a flagrant violation of international law, including the prohibition of aggression, and said it bore the essential characteristics of piracy. He also stated that the action violated an April 8 ceasefire and constituted an act of aggression under UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1974), threatening regional and international peace. Iran rejected and condemned the US action in the strongest terms Iravani was urging the Security Council and secretary-general to take an immediate and principled stance, explicitly condemn the act, ensure full accountability for those responsible, and compel the USA to release the vessel, its crew, their families and all affected persons without condition. The ambassador requested that the letter be registered and circulated as an official Security Council document.

The "Touska" will depart Shenzhen port in the Guangdong Province bound to Bandar Abbas after minor repairs and loading its cargo. The ship entered the port in the evening of Nov 7 in coordination with Hong Kong officials in a bid to assess the damages.

Enroute from Kaoshiung to Shenzen the "Touska" ran aground on Nov 5, 2017, at 9.15 p.m. at the eastern tip of Magazine island, where in the late 19th century British merchants established a powder depot for the supply of British troops stationed in Hong Kong, opposite to South Horizons. The residents of Hoi Yi were alerted by the noise of the ship crashing onto the rocks and watched sparks from the bow after collision with ground. At the time of grounding the ship was moving with 7,5 knots when it left the fairway on the East Lamma Channel before running into Magazine Island, an uninhabited islet about 400 metres off residential estate South Horizons on Ap Lei Chau, after having turned hard to starboard. The Marine Police, Fire Department and the Marine Department rushed to the scene, also an ambulance was called to the scene, but the crew of 28 was not injured. The Hong Kong based tug "Hai Hoi (IMO: 9688271 ), the fireboats 1 and 4 and the plot boat "Pilot 1" were deployed to the grounding site. On Nov 6 only the tug "Hai Tong" (MMSI: 477046500) was near the ship. Reports with photos: https://www.hk01.com/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/131213/-%E8%B2%A8%E8%88%B9%E6%93%B1%E6%B7%BA-%E6%92%9E%E7%81%AB%E8%97%A5%E6%B4%B2%E9%80%BE14%E5%B0%8F%E6%99%82-%E8%B2%A8%E8%88%B9%E4%BE%9D%E8%88%8A%E6%93%B1%E6%B7%BA%E5%B2%B8%E9%82%8A https://www.hk01.com/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/131147/-%E8%B2%A8%E8%88%B9%E6%93%B1%E6%B7%BA-300%E7%B1%B3%E9%95%B7%E8%B2%A8%E8%88%B9%E6%92%9E%E7%81%AB%E8%97%A5%E6%B4%B2%E6%93%B1%E6%B7%BA-%E6%B5%B7%E6%80%A1%E5%B1%85%E6%B0%91%E7%9B%B4%E6%93%8A%E8%88%B9%E9%A0%AD%E5%86%92%E7%81%AB%E8%8A%B1#&gid=1&pid=3 http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2118525/loud-noise-and-sparks-alarm-residents-cargo-ship-hits-islet

The three Iranian ships “Sahand”, “Sabalan” and “Tochal” were recently seized in Singapore. All ships were carrying containers, but were unloaded and are now empty.