Ship terror search 'unnecessary'

The Nisha remains moored off the Isle of Wight

The shipping company which owns the cargo ship intercepted in the English Channel by anti-terrorist officers has criticised Scotland Yard's handling of the search.

The MV Nisha was seized on Friday after a tip-off that it was carrying terrorist material.

It was searched for five days by officers but was given the all-clear on Monday after they found nothing.

Sudhir Mulji, chairman of the Great Eastern Shipping Company, which owns the vessel, told the BBC's Today programme that he did not think terrorists would have had enough time to plant anything on board the ship.

Timescale

"The ship was not scheduled to come to England until 6 November. The terrorists would have had to have moved incredibly fast," he said.

He added that Scotland Yard would have discovered the timescale "by just asking in England".

HMS Sutherland was involved in the operation

"The ship belongs to a British company, it's chartered in England, the brokers are all English - it was just a question of asking someone."

Scotland Yard, which says the ship is free to continue its journey, declined to respond to Mr Mulji's comments.

Officers said on Christmas Day that they were satisfied the vessel posed no danger to the public.

The head of Scotland Yard's specialist operations, assistant commissioner David Veness, said that officers would remain vigilant, and would not hesitate to take similar action in the future if there was a potential risk to the public.

Al-Qaeda link

The Nisha, which is carrying 26,000 tons of raw sugar, was intercepted by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland in international waters on Friday morning after a tip-off.

There is no suggestion that the Nisha or its owners are in any way connected to al-Qaeda.

However, on its voyage to the UK the vessel stopped in Djibouti, next to Somalia, which has been linked with the terror group.

Mr Mulji said his company was now considering legal action against the British police for the delay.