By Shamindra Ferdinando
Controversy surrounds the events leading to the seizure and the destruction of merchant vessel, Princess Kash off the terrorist controlled Mullaitivu coast last week. The vessel owned by Goodwill Company was bombed after terrorists in Sri Lankan security forces uniforms supposedly tricked the vessel's captain to take their orders.

The captain of the ill-fated cargo ship, Princess Kash has claimed that LTTE cadres involved in the seizure of his ship last week had been in Sri Lankan Navy [SLN] uniforms.

Captain B. N. Karkera had told a group of Colombo based Indian journalists on August 19 that LTTE cadres had been in SLN type uniforms. He had also said that LTTE gave directives and instructions claiming that they were SLN personnel. The captain, according to Sri Lankan officials had indicated that he carried out orders believing the SLN personnel were on board the boats which moved towards Princess Kash.

However this fact had not been highlighted when Sri Lankan security services officers questioned both the captain and the chief officer, Ramesh Singh, military sources said yesterday.

They were questioned at the Bandaranaike International Airport [BIA] in the presence of an Indian diplomat last Wednesday.

"We cannot rule out the possibility of terrorists posing off as SLN personnel to carry out this particular operation," an authoritative official said.

There had been previous incidents in the northern theatre of naval operations where terrorists in SLN type unforms had fired at Indian fishing trawlers another officer said. Initially he may have been fooled by the terrorists, officers admitted. As the captain had gone on record as saying that his vessel was boarded approximately 50 nautical miles off the Mullaitivu coast investigators could not ignore the fact he has to be aware that we [SLN] do not operate in small boats 50 miles away from the mainland," officers said.

The team which questioned the Indians at the BIA has already submitted its report to the Defence Ministry. "This incident would not have happened if Karkera followed instructions given to him by the SLN," an officer said. All ships engaged to transport supplies for the civilian population in the Jaffna peninsula have been instructed to operate at least 50 nautical miles off the coast.

Karkera's ship was detected approximately 14 miles off Boulder Point, Trincomalee on August 13 night senior government officials said. Even after Karkera was ordered to move out to the sea, he had operated approximately 20-25 nautical miles off the coast, investigators believe.

Available information suggests that terrorists were able to seize the ship as a result of the captain's failure to follow instructions, officials said. "However we are not sure why he failed to follow instructions," an officer said.

Earlier the government said that Kfirs were ordered to bomb the ship after Karkera's conduct gave sufficient cause for grave suspicion to security forces that he was acting in connivance with terrorists.

Questioning has revealed that at the time of the air strikes, the cargo hatch had not been opened. "They may have removed some items on the deck," officers admitted.