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‘The cannons are just for show’: Ex-Royal navy officer denies he was off to fight Somali pirates after his heavily-armoured boat was impounded in Spain
- Former gunboat has been stopped by Spanish authorities near Tenerife
- It has been inspected five times in less than a week
- Spanish fear the boat may have been on its way to fight Somali pirates
- But owner Chris Enmarch claims cannons on boat are ‘totally unusable’
- He said Spanish authorities had ‘made a big fuss about nothing’
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An ex-Royal Navy officer has claimed reports that he was heading to Somalia to fight pirates are ‘nonsense’
Former lieutenant Chris Enmarch’s decommissioned gunboat Defender raised suspicions among Spanish authorities last week after he was forced to stop off in Tenerife for repairs.
Civil Guard officers have carried out five inspections of the vessel and have refused to allow the heavily armoured converted warship to sail.
But Mr Enmarch, 53, of Penryn, Cornwall, said the Spanish authorities were making a ‘fuss about nothing’ and said the cannons on his boat were ‘just for show and totally unusable’.
Angry: Chris Enmarsh, 53, said it was ‘nonsense’ to suggest he was intending to use his boat to fight Somali pirates
Following background checks on Mr Enmarsh, the Spanish authorities are believed to have been concerned by comments he made to a local newspaper in Essex in 2011 that he intended to arm it for shipping and oil rig protection.
He told the Maldon Chronicle in November 2011: ‘Defender’s task will be to deter any pirates intent on boarding the many ships that pass the East African coastline. One look at her should be enough to send them looking for easier targets.
‘She will be manned by handpicked ex-Royal Marine Commandos and run as a professional naval ship, obeying the rules of engagement.
‘Our primary task will be to protect oil platforms which are towed close to the coast of East Africa, and a number of oil companies want to hire Defender to look after their interests.
‘We are not mercenaries; this is strictly a business venture similar to other British private protection firms which operate in Iraq and Afghanistan.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317088/Ex-Royal-navy-officer-heavily-armoured-boat-denies-fight-Somali-pirates.html#ixzz2SxUWKbH9
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