Colombia’s Dirección General Maritima or maritime command, under the jurisdiction of the country’s Ministry of Defense reached out to Finance Colombia last night to clarify certain rumors and reports regarding the apparent murder of Myo Tun Zaw of Myanmar, the ship’s master (Captain) of the Spirit of Hamburg container ship.

The Colombian Maritime Authority issued the following statement (translated into English).

In reference to the death of the captain of the “Spirit of Hamburg” cargo ship, Myo Tun Zaw, a national of Burma (Myanmar), in circumstances that are the subject of investigation, the Maritime Directorate General is allowed to clarify that:

The Spirit of Hamburg, container ship, flagged to the Isle of Man of the Maersk shipping line, arrived at the port of Cartagena on April 16, 2020 at 7:40 a.m. with 21 crew members onboard, in order to load and unload containers at the port facilities of the Cartagena Regional Port Authority.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on the same day, when the cargo ship was still docked at the port, a report was received from the Protection Officer of the Cartagena Regional Port Authority, reporting the death of the captain, who was found on the main deck of the ship.
The specific circumstances of time, mode and place are the subject of investigation by the Colombian judicial authorities.
The General Maritime Directorate through the Port Authority of Cartagena opened the corresponding administrative investigation, in application of Decree Law 2324 of 1984 and Decree 730 of 2004 “ By which Chapter XI-2 of the International Agreement is partially regulated for the Safety of Human Life in the Sea of 1974-SOLAS-approved by 8^th Law of 1980,” compiled in the Unique Decree of the Defense Sector 1070 of 2015, regarding the verification and compliance with the ship protection plan and the port facility, actions carried out by virtue of its powers as authority of the coastal state.
The Colombian Maritime Authority will continue to make available its competence within the investigations that are currently being carried out by different judicial and administrative authorities that have jurisdiction over the events that have occurred, especially by the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, enforcing the powers of Colombia. as a coastal State so that justice is effectively exercised in our country, in accordance with the national legal order and International Public Law.
The General Maritime Directorate has maintained constant communication with the representatives of the shipping company in the port of Cartagena and has issued the corresponding notifications addressed to the flag state of the ship.

Images courtesy Hamburg Sud Line

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Loren Moss is the founder and publisher of Finance Colombia. He has over 20 years of international business experience, including over a decade of experience in securities, insurance, and commercial real estate, at the institutional and international level.