C.E.G Bulk Chartering GmbH

"A German-owned ship was halted after its owners received information - which allegedly came from Syrian government defectors - that it might be carrying weapons bound for Syria, according to a report published Saturday. The agent for the company chartering the ship vehemently denied that it was carrying any such load... German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the Atlantic Cruiser was stopped in the Mediterranean after its owners were warned it was suspected to be carrying Iranian military equipment to Tartus, Syria. Without citing sources, it said 'defectors in the Syrian government apparatus' were behind the alert. Der Spiegel quoted shipping agent Torsten Lueddeke of Hamburg-based C.E.G. Bulk Chartering as saying: 'We stopped the ship after we received information on the weapons cargo.' He said the ship had been chartered to an Odessa, Ukraine-based company called White Whale Shipping and 'they declared to us as cargo above all pumps and things like that,' according to the report. 'We would never have allowed weapons on board." (WashingtonPost, "German-owned ship halted with suspected Syria weapons shipment," 4/14/12)