Canadians Seize U.S. Cargo Ship

Backed by warships, armed Canadian troops dropped from a helicopter and seized control of a U.S.-owned vessel off Canada’s Atlantic coast Thursday, after the ship refused to deliver its cargo of Canadian military supplies because of a monthlong contract dispute.

The navy boarded the 750-foot freighter, the GTS Katie, because the ship was holding important military supplies, said Defense Minister Arthur Eggleton.

After the navy warned of its intention to board, two Canadian naval ships approached the Katie on Thursday afternoon. But the freighter accelerated, jerking from side to side, said Capt. Drew Robertson, who was in charge of the boarding.

As the Canadian vessels closed in, a navy helicopter lowered 14 heavily armed soldiers to the Katie’s deck to take control, Robertson said at a news conference.

“The master of the ship was rather dramatic, which is understandable,” Robertson said. “The crew was rather welcoming.”

The ship’s Russian captain, Vitaly Khlebnikov, told reporters that the boarding was “dangerous.”

There were no injuries in the operation, which came a day after Canada said it had received permission to board the ship from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean nation where the boat is registered, officials said.

The Katie was being escorted Thursday night to Montreal and was expected to arrive Sunday, three weeks after the original arrival date.

The freighter was carrying five tanks, 200 of Canada’s 2,000 armored vehicles and 390 crates packed with munitions worth $150 million. The supplies were used by Canadian peacekeepers in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic. Three Canadian soldiers were also on board to guard the cargo.

The freighter had been stationed in international waters about 140 miles off Newfoundland since Monday night.

The ship’s owner, Annapolis, Md.-based Third Ocean Marine Navigation Co., was hired by a Montreal-based company, Andromeda, which had been contracted by the military to bring back the supplies.

But Third Ocean had refused to deliver the cargo, demanding payment it said it was owed. The Canadian government and the shippers had been negotiating a settlement since early last month.

Peter Margan, head of Third Ocean, says Andromeda owes him $288,000. He said that late Wednesday the military had given him an ultimatum to accept an offer of $90,000 or face seizure.