May 25, 2009.  On August 21, 2008, the MV Iran Deyanat, sailing from Nanjing China, was hyjacked off the cost of Somalia. By the time it left Somalia, the neocon rumor that it was delivering "weapons to Somalia's Islamist insurgents" had escalated across the extremist blogosphere, turning the ship into a dirty bomb full of  continued>> radioactive sand. It would detonate off the cost of Israel on Yom Kippur, where trade winds would blow the radioactivity across Israel.

The Deyanat had taken a month to reach Somalia, and, after Iran paid a $2.5 million ransom, it would leave Somalia on October 10th and reach Rotterdam on November 11 to deliver 42,500 tons of iron ore and industrial products purchased by a German client, exactly as described on its manifest. The Dutch, nervous about the rumors, made an extremely careful inspection, and the Germans reported there were no problem.

Google "MV Iran Deyanat" and you will turn up 3000 web pages on hundreds of crazy right-wing web sites that hate Obama (and, yes, there are crazy left-wing websites with other theories). I've checked quite a few and not one of them reported the dirty bomb theory proved to be wrong.

"TheLongWar" website seems to have started this. It's a neoconservative site and the most respectable of the bunch. It seems to have a lot of accurate information, apparently mixed in with some complete nonsense, which it does not sort out, even after it's proven to be nonsense.

The entire basis of this rumor is a few statements made to TheLongWar by a "high-level official in the Puntland government." Now Puntland is a lawless part of the failed state of Somalia, and it's main occupation seems to be piracy. And, the "high level official" seems to have been directing the pirates. He and another Punlander reported that "a few days" after the pirates took the ship some of them got sick, their hair started falling out, and some died.

It's amazing how far this crazy story went considering:

(1) The crew, which had been on board for a month, did not get sick, let alone die, while some of the pirates, who had been doing who-knows-what, who-knows-where did. Pretty clear evidence, it was not a ship full of radioactive sand that caused their hair loss.

(2) Would China really want to create Iran's dirty bomb and suffer decades of retribution for such a hair-brained scheme?

(3) Would Iran want to make a bunch of Israelis sick and maybe kill a few hundred, given that Israel has about 250 nuclear tipped missiles that can hit Iran?

MV Iran Deyanat Dirty Bomb Ship Rumor Wont Sink

There are still far too many news, blogs and more that still believe the MV Iran Deyanat was some kind of radiological (dirty bomb) weapon from Iran aimed Israel.

The MV Iran Deyanat arrived at Rotterdam on 11 November 2008. A "multi-disciplinary team comprising inspectors from the port authority, customs and habour police boarded and searched the ship" and found no hazardous substances on board.The paperwork was in order and the ship was unloaded. Lloyd's List reported that the ship’s charterer—German-based Hinrichs—denied any evidence of pirates falling ill during the hijacking.

Hijacked Iranian bulker berths at Rotterdam

Helen Hill, Amsterdam and Neville Smith, Rotterdam - Friday 14 November 200

IRANIAN-owned bulk carrier Iran Deyanat, which was hijacked off Somalia in August, has berthed at Rotterdam after boarding and inspection by port authority police and customs officials.

The 1983-built, 43,150 dwt Iranian-flag bulker, loaded with industrial minerals and food products was allowed to enter the port on Tuesday after officials gave it a clean bill of health.

The ship was the subject of articles by US-based bloggers that some pirates became ill after gaining access to the ship’s cargo, leading to speculation that the ship was carrying arms, uranium or chemical weapons.

A local Rotterdam politician called for inspections before the bulk carrier was allowed to enter port but harbour master Jaap Lems gave the go-ahead for the vessel to enter the port where a multi-disciplinary team comprising inspectors from the port authority, customs and habour police boarded and searched the ship reporting no cause for concern.

Cargo operations began almost immediately with bulk and bagged parcels being transhipped into barges for onward transportation.

Thomas Poetsch of the ship’s charterer German-based Hinrichs, said there had never been any evidence that pirates had suffered illness during the hijack. But he pointed out that anyone entering the holds mid-voyage risked immediate suffocation because of oxygen degeneration.

The Iranian vessel had 25 seafarers on board when it was kidnapped, most of whom left the ship in Salalah. The master, Hassani Nejad, who was not in command when the ship was hijacked said, he was told that the pirates showed little interest in the cargo druring the 50 days of captivity and remained mostly in the accomodation block during this time. IRISL is understood to have paid $2.5m ransom for the ship’s release.

http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/hijacked-iranian-bulker-berths-at-rotterdam/20017590404.htm

Also: http://www.bnr.nl/artikel/10478071/berucht-iraans-schip-rotterdam