THE cargo ship seized by anti-terrorist police following a tip-off is likely to remain off the Isle of Wight for the foreseeable future, the Metropolitan Police said yesterday.
It would be a number of weeks before the detailed examination of the MV Nisha was complete, because of its size and design, police said.
The 450ft vessel, carrying 26,000 tonnes of raw sugar, was intercepted in the Channel on Friday morning and is moored about half a mile off Sandown Bay, where the search began.
In due course the Nisha will be moved to another location, yet to be decided, where the examination will continue.
Anti-terrorist branch officers are still searching the ship, and say they have found no noxious, hazardous or dangerous substances.
The police said crew remained on board the vessel and were being cooperative
The Nisha was seized by anti-terrorist police, the Royal Navy and Customs and Excise after a tip-off that it contained "terrorist material". The Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland intercepted it in international waters about 30 miles south of Beachy Head.
The Nisha is operated by the Great Eastern Shipping Company, based in Bombay, India.
It had recently stopped in the African country of Djibouti, a neighbour of Somalia, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terror network.
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