SHIP TRANSPORTING ARMS DROPS ANCHOR IN FRONT OF PLOCE PORT

PLOCE, Dec 9 (Hina) - A ship 'Nuwayba' with 172 tonnes of arms and equipment cast anchor in front of the Croatian port of Ploce on Monday afternoon. It arrived from Egypt in the Ploce anchorage, in organization of the international shipping company 'Jadroagent'. The ship is transporting 42 wide-range cannons and equipment, which Egypt has presented to the armed force of the Croat-Moslem Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the 'Equip and Train programme'. It also transporting about 120 tonnes of equipment for needs of the IFOR, international peace force in Bosnia. In the anchorage of Ploce there is also a ship from the United Arab Emirates, which arrived in mid-November from Abu Dhabi. The ship Sondos has carried cannons and military equipment as well for the 'Equip and Train' programme aimed at equipping the Bosnian Federation army. However the ship has been waiting for sailing into the Ploce port for twenty days. It is still uncertain when the ships with cannons aboard may enter the Ploce port. At the recent news conference on board of the U.S. 'American Condor' in the Ploce port, the U.S. envoy for military stability on the Balkans, James Pardew, confirmed that the EAU participated in equipping the Bosnian Federation army, and announced that its ship would soon arrive in Ploce. (hina) mš 091933 MET dec 96