Seizure of SAF armoured vehicles in HK began with Chinese law enforcement tip off: Factwire

SINGAPORE — Mainland Chinese law enforcement organisations had tipped off Hong Kong customs officials about a shipment of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) armoured vehicles that arrived at the city's port earlier this week, leading to its eventual seizure, a new report has alleged.

Factwire, the Hong Kong news agency which broke the news of the seizure of the nine Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles, cited unnamed sources on Saturday saying that the shipment was discovered to have contained  "undeclared military materials" when it stopped for a layover at Xiamen’s Haitian Container Terminals in Fujian, eastern China, after departing Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 

"Before the vessel arrived at the Hong Kong port, Customs were informed by mainland law enforcement organisations that the vessel contained undeclared military materials, and did not have an approval notice," Factwire said in its latest report. "When it arrived in Hong Kong, the Customs searched the vessel and confiscated relevant military materials."

The news agency quoted a port worker saying that an entire team of officers was sent to search the vessel  - APL QATAR 041 - when routine inspections typically involved just two to three officers.

"The officers apparently were specific about searching the vessel when it arrived at the terminal," Factwire said. 

The report, however, did not name the mainland Chinese agencies which tipped off customs officials in Hong Kong, nor did it say how Chinese security organisations found out about the shipment of SAF armoured vehicles in Xiamen.

On Friday, Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily News published reports — complete with pictures and a video — of the vehicles being moved in the early hours under police escort to Hong Kong Customs’ cargo examination compound at the River Trade Terminal. This raised questions about whether they will be returned expeditiously, as Singapore has requested, even as a team from the SAF was expected to reach Hong Kong to “address the security of the equipment”, said Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef). 

In its latest report, Factwire said it managed to track the shipping route and itinerary of the vessel moving the Terrex vehicles using code numbers on the confiscated containers. The SAF had contracted APL as the commercial shipping line to transport nine armoured vehicles and associated equipment to Singapore. APL is a unit of shipping giant CMA CGM Group, which bought over homegrown company Neptune Orient Lines earlier this year.  

According to the service schedules for APL QATAR, which could be found on CMA CGM's website, the vessel departed Kaohsiung on November 21, Monday, and arrived at Xiamen's Haitian Container Terminals the same day. 

Factwire, using information from Automatic Identification System that tracks the movement and location of ships, said APL QATAR stayed in Xiamen for 16 hours, and left for Hong Kong at 10.24am on Tuesday (Nov 22). 

The vessel, reportedly hoisting a Singapore flag, arrived at Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing Container Terminal 8 at 8:32am on Wednesday (Nov 23). It was scheduled to leave Hong Kong at 3pm the same day.

The armoured vehicles were seized on Wednesday, and the vessel not allowed to depart until 5:37am on Thursday when it left for Chiwan port in Shenzhen in southern China. The shipment of the Terrex vehicles was originally scheduled to arrive in Singapore on Nov 29.

Mindef said that during the transit through Hong Kong, “customs officials raised queries if the necessary permits and declarations by APL were in order and in the process detained the Terrex ICVs”. 

It added that APL officials have assured the SAF that they are working with Hong Kong authorities to resolve the issue.

Mindef said that APL was required to adhere to all regulations, including declaring the equipment it transports in the ship’s cargo manifest and obtaining the permits needed to transit through ports. “The nine Terrex ICVs are training platforms with no ammunition or sensitive equipment on board,” the ministry said. 

Responding to media queries, an APL spokesperson said the firm was extending its full cooperation to the Hong Kong authorities and working with the various stakeholders. “The matter is pending discussion and we are unable to comment further,” the spokesperson said. Nevertheless, the company is “committed to ensuring cargo security as well as full compliance with all regulatory and trade requirements in its conduct of business”.