A ship that departed from Russia carrying arms en route to Syria was stopped in Cyprus on Wednesday. The ship was later released after it promised to change its destination, officials said.
“Actual examination of the content of the containers was not possible due to the narrow confines of the ship. It was concluded that the ship carried dangerous cargo with destination to Syria and Turkey,” a statement from the Cyprus Foreign Ministry read.
The ship departed from St. Petersburg on Dec. 9, and was heading to the port city of Latakia in Syria, reported the Politis newspaper in Cyprus.
According to the Cyprus Foreign Ministry, the ship had not intended to stop at the Cyprus port of Limassol, but bad weather forced it to take refuge and refuel.
The owners of the ship said they would change the direction and would not head to Latakia, but there was no elaboration by Cyprus officials where the ship would be heading instead.
Reuters later reported that the ship was carrying at least 60 tons of ammunition.
In 2009, Cyprus confiscated a ship that was sailing from Syria to Iran that was carrying arms, citing the violation of United Nations sanctions as its reason for doing so.
