Explosives on ship from Belgium planted in haste, says demining expert

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Whoever booby-trapped the ship that arrived in Ust-Luga from Belgium did so in haste, Russian demining expert Alexey Malyshev said.

"Apparently, the explosive technicians who mined the ship had to work under some sort of duress. They did not have enough time to weld <…> or disguise the explosives in any other way," said Malyshev, whose company ‘Setevaya Kompaniya’ employs a number of humanitarian demining professionals. "So they worked in haste. But they were professionals nonetheless, because amateurs do not handle explosives, especially when water is involved."

He assessed that the explosives were probably planted when the ship was sitting higher in the water.

"It's likely that [the bomb] was supposed to detonate once the ship was loaded. The explosives were planted on a dry surface, when the vessel was empty and its hull was well above water. No diving was involved," he added.

In his opinion, "someone approached the ship and planted the explosives for the blast to happen when the ship is loaded," with the added weight setting the bomb off.

The expert believes that the explosives were planted somewhere in neutral waters rather than at port. Otherwise, it would have been concealed more thoroughly, he added.

The bomb was camouflaged as an ordinary trash bag, which somehow got stuck to the hull.

"They hoped that not all vessels undergo examinations," Malyshev said. "And this leads us to a very important conclusion: only full inspection of all vessels can ensure reliable security."