GAUGHAN BLASTS U.S. RESPONSE TO DELAWARE BAY BOARDING

GAUGHAN BLASTS U.S. RESPONSE TO DELAWARE BAY BOARDING    John Gaughan, president of First American Bulk Carrier Corp., says the U.S. government's response to the Aug. 19 boarding of U.S.-flag vessel M/V Delaware Bay by armed Yugoslav military personnel was “deplorable” and “a vintage case of    ‘too little, too late.'”
   First American Bulk Carrier operates the containership Delaware Bay and its sister vessel, the Chesapeake Bay. The two ships are owned by the pension fund of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association union and are time-chartered by Farrell Lines.
   “I am relieved that no one was hurt in this incident, which is a modern-day equivalent to the Barbary pirates,” Gaughan said. “The fact that there was so little official reaction makes me worry that the same thing will happen again. If it had been a U.S. airline involved, our government’s response would have been swift, firm, and plastered over CNN.
   “As of today, Aug 28, I have still seen no statement from any U.S. government source deploring the boarding,” Gaughan said.
   The Maritime Administration advised U.S.-flag carriers Sunday, eight days after the incident, to “exercise caution and vigilance” while transiting waters off Montenegro. A MarAd official said the agency had acted in a “measured and appropriate” way after discussions with the State Department. “Indications are that [the boarding] may have been sanctioned by Belgrade authorities, although not by the Montenegrin government,” MarAd said in a statement.
      After a gunboat stopped the Delaware Bay off the port of Bar, in Montenegro, Yugoslav soldiers armed with machine guns boarded the vessel and ordered the master, Jerome Benyo, to shut down communications and take the ship to the military port of Tivat. Capt. Benyo refused and demanded that the leader of the boarding party identify himself. “He was told, 'you don’t cooperate, we won’t cooperate,'” Gaughan said.
   The Yugoslavs demanded a crew list and cargo manifest, saying that the ship was suspected of having stopped in Albania to smuggle arms intended for Montenegro.    The vessel had made no such call, Gaughan said.
   The soldiers finally left the ship after being aboard for four hours. The Delaware Bay entered Bar and discharged its cargo without further hassle, but not before a Farrell agent ashore paid $3,200 to the Yugoslav military, newspaper reports say.
'    A spokesman for Farrell Lines had no comment on the alleged payment.