Company claims guns seized at Mombasa port belong to UN

General Service Unit officers guard the Hoegh Transporter at the Mombasa port on September 23, 2015. Firearms were found on board the ship last week. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The white substance has been sent to the government chemist for analysis.
• The company said it will cooperate with the Kenyan authorities in investigations.

By ANGIRA ZADOCK
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Assorted firearms found in a ship at the Mombasa port belong to the UN, a transport company has claimed.

“Hoegh Autoliners believes that the weapons found belong to the UN vehicles in which they were found, and were for use by the UN during their peacekeeping mission,” the company said in statement sent to the media on Thursday.

Kenyan police say 34 American-made firearms and a white powder were found in the vessel, the Hoegh Transporter.

The white substance has been sent to the Government Chemist for analysis.

In the statement, Hoegh Autoliners said the weapons were not declared to the company at the time the cargo was loaded, and that was “a violation (of) the company’s own terms of transportation which prohibits transportation of arms or ammunition”.

The company said it would cooperate with the Kenyan authorities in investigations but is concerned that the ship may be sunk.

“Kenya has sunk two other vessels in the past over carrying illegal items such as drugs and weapons. The Hoegh Transporter is however a very large vessel and sinking it could have diplomatic ramifications,” the company added.