Police in southern India have arrested all 35 crew members on board a US ship which was detained last week, news reports say.
Police boarded the Seaman Guard Ohio docked at the VO Chidambaram Port in Tuticorin town and arrested 10 crew members and 25 security guards, the Times of India newspaper reported on Friday.
The ship was detained on Saturday by the Indian Coast Guard off the Tamil Nadu coast. Thirty-one assault rifles and over 5000 rounds of ammunition were seized, the report said citing police sources.
The vessel is owned by US-based firm AdvanFort International Inc, which provides maritime security services to ships against pirate attacks. The vessel is registered in Sierra Leone.
It did not obtain permits for carrying weapons before entering Indian waters, a coastal security officer was cited as saying.
The AdvanFort management in a press statement thanked the Indian Coast Gurad and Tuticorin port officials for allowing the vessel to enter the port to refuel and escape the impact of Cyclone Phailin which hit the area late Saturday.
The ship management said the men on board provided counter-piracy protection and all equipment on board was properly registered and licenced to AdvanFort.
Thirty-three of the men arrested were taken to a police station for questioning while two were allowed to remain on the ship for maintenance work, police said.
The crew comprises two Ukrainians and eight Indians while the security guards comprised six British nationals, 14 Estonians, one Ukrainian and four Indians.
The passports of the men had been confiscated and they were likely to appear in court later Friday for remand.
The men had been booked under sections of the Indian Arms Act that forbids possession of weapons without permission, police were quoted as saying.
They had also been charged under the Essential Commodities Act for acquiring fuel in Indian waters in an unauthorised manner, the Times of India reported.
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