Ship with Canadian military arms told to anchor in river

TORONTO (Reuters) -- A vessel carrying hundreds of millions of dollars of Canadian military equipment and running low on fuel has been ordered to anchor in the St. Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec, further delaying its arrival in the Canadian port, Canada's National Defense Department said Saturday.

Capt. Marc Theriault, a Canadian Forces spokesman, said two tugboats were being hired to tow the ship to Becancour, Quebec. The tugs are expected to reach the GTS Katie on Monday, delaying the vessel's arrival until Wednesday or Thursday.

The announcement is the latest twist in a bizarre saga. Earlier in the week, the vessel effectively held the military equipment hostage.

The Katie, owned by Maryland-based Third Ocean Marine Navigation, is bringing C$223 million ($150 million) in tanks and other military equipment -- about a tenth of the army's hardware -- home from peacekeeping in Kosovo.

Armed Canadian soldiers were forced to seize the vessel Thursday after Third Ocean, contending that Montreal charterers Andromeda Navigation had said they would withhold payments, halted the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland to emphasize its dissatisfaction.

Theriault said Canadian Forces members aboard the GTS Katie felt it would be dangerous for the vessel to enter the narrow area of the St. Lawrence with low fuel levels.

"It would not be responsible to launch a ship of that size in the narrow part of the St. Lawrence seaway without sufficient fuel," Theriault said. "Therefore the decision has been made to wait until the ship can be towed to Becancour."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For more Americas news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about Americas

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.