Terry Hutson
IT TURNED out to be not so rich pickings but double trouble for the Tanzanian general cargo ship Rich Deity shortly after arrival in Richards Bay last week.
The 9 878gt, 1976-built ship, owned by Chinese-Tanzanian Joint Shipping Company, was raided by officials of the local border police unit, who discovered a large number of rare and endangered animal products on board.
These included tortoise and turtle shells, exotic sea shells, dried seahorses, a preserved sea turtle, sea cucumbers as well as several live Madagascan tortoises. The Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species has many of these species on their 'critical' list.
In a separate issue with the ship, the South African Maritime Safety Association has called for a classification surveyor from China to inspect it because they say they are unhappy with its condition.
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