We Can Now Kill the "Mystery Ship" Rumor

The MV Iran Deyanat might be the most popular commercial vessel in the world. Hijacked earlier this year off the coast of Somalia, the ship became the subject of wild speculation and conspiracy theory when a Somalian government minister claimed to Reuters that 16 pirates died attempting to open the cargo hold. A few more strange stories began popping up, including blisters, boils, and hair falling out of those exposed to the cargo of the ship.

At that point, the conspiracy theories became legand. Whether it was a dirty bomb to be used against Israel, nuclear cargo to be offloaded in Africa for Al Qaeda, or a simple case of illegal dumping of toxic materials by China off the coast of Somalia, something about the MV Iran Deyanat became perfect fodder. When the company that owned the Iran Deyanat got listed under sanctions due to ownership by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard 2 days before the rumors broke into the mainstream news, a legand was born.

When the MV Iran Deyanat was released in early October, the expectation was the ship could be boarded to inspect the cargo and explain some of the mysterious rumors that came about in the mainstream media. If there was such an inspection, it never made the news. The crew that was hijacked was replaced, and the ship continued on towards Rotterdam, its original destination.

Well, the MV Iran Deyanat popped up in the news again today, this time making port in Rotterdam. Not only was the ship deemed unsuspecting of any problems, but it underwent a normal inspection without issue and according to this news report, is tied up to bouy 29 without the necessity of extra security as the ship waits to unload cargo.

Hopefully this will allow the never ending conspiracy theory surrounding the ship die. Was there anything that made this ship unusual? Hell ya! Pirates turned down a $2 million dollar ransom at one point, the ship had an unusually long official transit log, Reuters reported on dead people and other health related problems of those exposed to the ship, and official government folks in Somalia threw plenty of gas on the fire. In the end, it amounted to nothing, adding just one more legend to the piracy off the Somalian coast.