A total of 208 packages containing drugs were seized by authorities from a containership’s ventilation system while the vessel was in Colon, Panama, on May 5.
Public Prosecutor’s Office of Panama identified the vessel as Celina Star, registered in Liberia.
The Panamax containership was detained in Colon and during a joint inspection of the ship, conducted with National Aeronaval Service (Senan), the authorities found the contraband in the ship’s ventilation pipes.
The 2001-built Celina Star was on its way from Buenaventura, Columbia to Algeciras, Spain when the raid took place.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that there have been no arrests in connection to the case so far and that an investigation is underway.
The boxship has since been released, based on its AIS data from Marine Traffic, and continues its journey toward Spain with estimated ETA being set for May 15, 2018.
Data from VesselsValue shows that the ship was bought by UK-based fund management firm Tufton Ocean in 2014 from Greek Metrostar Management.
World Maritime News Staff