Sri Lankan authorities ordered the controversial ship "Captain Ali," which illegally entered Sri Lankan waters last week, to leave from Sri Lanka without unloading the goods they carried. The ship was organized by the group "Mercy Mission To Vanni" and is carrying 864 metric tonnes of food and medical items. It was seized by the Navy after ileagally entering to Sri Lankan waters.
The ship began its journey to Sri Lanka on April 20th from Ipswich Port in United Kingdom and loaded the shipment that is donated by the Tamil Community in United Kingdom on May 7th at the French port of Fos-sur-Mer.
Although the ship’s owner says the vessel is carrying essential items for the Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) in North Sri Lanka, authorities say that these goods are transported for the defeated Liberatio Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Rebels in the North. The ship was carrying 15 crew members, including an Icelandish member of the former Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), and was planning to sail towards the northern coastal area held by the rebels at that time.