Unauthorised sat phone from cargo vessel vanishes in city

On the rainy night of June 11, a cargo ship sent security agencies in maximum city into maximum alert. For two days, a massive search operation was mounted to track signals from a satellite phone that was criss-crossing the city, with the security personnel desperately hoping that it wasn’t the prelude to a terror attack.

This is how it happened. On June 11, a giant 7,778-tonne cargo vessel from Germany, M.V. Lifter, berthed at 3ID, Indira Dock, Mazgaon. While an avalanche of rain deluged Mumbai, the Navy and the Coast Guard spotted satellite signals that initially emanated from the vessel. A centralised control room was alerted.

Bringing back memories of the 26/11 attacks, the signals began moving from one location to the next across south Mumbai. During that fated attack, terrorists had used satellite phones to talk to their handlers in Pakistan, and suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) men David Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana used the same mode to plan strikes on south Mumbai.

Combined teams of the Mumbai police, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the Coast Guard and the Army Intelligence swooped down on m.v. Lifter, which had moved to the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) docks. “In all the years since 26/11, no Central team in such a large number has hounded a vessel at our docks,” said an official.

Classified cargo

Sources said m.v. Lifter, with the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) number 9414199, was carrying classified defence equipment loaded from the Russian port city of Saint Petersburg for delivery to the Navy’s installations at Mumbai and Kochi.

Its 11 crew members, including the captain, were immediately detained for not complying with the Directorate General of Shipping’s 2012 order, which prohibits the unauthorised import and operation of Thuraya (a mobile satellite service based out of West Asia), Iridium (a similar U.S. service), and other such satellite phones in the Indian waters.

A six-hour search and threats to charge the crew under relevant Sections of the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, did not yield any results. “If this was not enough, the signals started jumping the dock limits and moved to locations within a five-kilometre radius of the docks,” said a source, who was part of the first day of search operations.

Mystery deepens

By next morning, the mystery had compounded with the phone signal traced to the General Post Office, Fort. Two hours later, it had moved into the Janmabhoomi Chambers, Walchand Hirachand Marg. “We evacuated the building and searched it on the morning and afternoon of June 12, but again did not find anything. There was tension, helplessness, and a sense of deja vu,” said a senior officer of the ATS.

The Mumbai Police then formed three teams from the Yellow Gate, MRA Marg and Cuffe Parade police stations. Army, ATS and the Coast Guard teams remained at the dock, searching seven other vessels next to berth 3ID, and stopping at berth 7ID, where m.v. Angriya had been parked for several months.

The agencies found that m.v. Lifter’s cargo was on a contract with M/s Sai Shipping, which had assured delivery of seven of its 14 containers in Mumbai and the rest in Kochi. Surprisingly, Customs had already locked the satellite communication on board.

Procedures require Customs and Immigration to board the vessel as soon it enters the inner anchorage of the docks. The bonded store in the ship, where the satellite phones are installed, are then sealed. An understanding is taken from the crew prohibiting the satphone’s use on the landward side of Indian waters. If there are satellite phones on board, the crew is required to announce them in the pre-arrival notification issued to the Indian port authorities. If there are errors in these documents, Customs fines are imposed.

The masters of vessels are directed to declare all such equipment on board, and not just Thuraya phones, with the vessel’s import documentation. The masters also have to keep such phones under their custody in a bonded store for as long as the vessel remains in Indian territorial waters.

“The docks and south Mumbai were put on a high alert while Army and Navy top brass were informed of the operation,” a police official said.

Sources say the satellite signals were last traced to a location inside the Saudi Arabia Consulate in Cuffe Parade. There, the search operations had to be abandoned since international protocols do not permit security agencies to enter the Consulate’s premises. The police believe the satphone is still there.

Still untraced

“Our teams crowded the streets around the Saudi and Omani Consulates but decided to come back. What is worrying is that an untracked satellite phone continues to exist in south Mumbai. This is a failure of our system,” said an official. An incident report prepared by the MPT said m.v. Lifter was allowed to sail to Kochi on June 14, after being detained for nearly 48 hours. The 3ID berth has remained vacant since, while the adjoining berths (2ID and 4ID) are occupied by supply vessels m.v. Han He and m.v. TAG-6.

Speaking of the satellite phone that is yet to be seized, a source said, “They were the most tense 48 hours for the authorities since 26/11.”