Shipping company says it had no knowledge of drugs found on bulker

The Greek shipping company that owns a bulker on which Italian authorities found a stash of cocaine worth €150m have said “neither the crew nor the company was involved in any way” with the drugs.

The Laskaridis company said “suspected contraband, believed to be cocaine,” was found in the vessel’s sea chest about 11 meters below the waterline.

It had been carefully wrapped in 570 packages.

It added that the sea chest is not accessible from inside the ship. Only divers would have access.

The company the crew of the ship, the Liberia-flag ship Atlas, has cooperated fully with the authorities in their investigation into the find.

The vessel had departed from the port of loading in Santos, Brazil, on 23 March and arrived, via Gibraltar for coal handling, in Venice, Italy, for discharge on 17 April 2023.

The vessel remains anchored off the coast of Venice.