Yugoslav Auxiliary Ugor

''Ugor'' (PO-92) was a PO-class logistic transport ship of the Yugoslav Navy, built in 1983 and classed as an ammunition auxiliary. Later sold into merchant service, the ship traded under Montenegrin ownership with the names ''Kairos I'' and ''Boka Star''. She was seized in 2002 by the Croatian authorities for arms smuggling and later demolished as ''Star''.

Characteristics

''Ugor'' was long, with a beam of and a mean draught of . Displacement was standard and full load. Two B&W-Alpha diesel engines with a total rating of drove two shafts, giving a speed of . The ship had a range of at . The ship was of Ro-Ro configuration, fitted with a bow visor and bow ramp to aid loading and unloading of vehicles, and with two slewing cranes on the upper deck. The main cargo deck could accommodate up to six tanks, while 150 fully armed troops could be carried in addition to the ship's crew of 43.

Naval service

Built in 1983, ''Ugor'' (PO-92) was the second ship, after ''Lubin'' (PO-91) and before ''Kit'' (PO-93), in a class of three small multi-role transport ships, known as the Lubin class by NATO. Designed by Brodoprojekt Rijeka, she was built for the Yugoslav Navy as Yard No.517 at the BSO-Brodosplit shipyard, Split. Their primary function was the replenishing of warships of the Yugoslav Navy with weapons, and as such were designated PO ( sr, Pomoćni oružar - Ammunition Auxiliary).Prézelin and Baker 1990, p. 941.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991–1992, ''Ugor'' remained part of the Yugoslav Navy though, together with ''Lubin'', the ship was laid up. In 1996 they were reported as transferred to Montenegro for scrapping or commercial use.Baker 1998, p. 1169.

Merchant service

In commercial service, she served under Montenegrin ownership, initially as ''Kairos I'' and from 1997 as ''Boka Star'', initially under the Belize flag. After being re-flagged to Tonga in January 2002, and under the ownership of Shipstar Shipping Services, itself owned by a Montenegrin, Marko Balić, the ship was involved in an arms-smuggling controversy.

Seizure

On 22 October 2002, ''Boka Star'' was seized by Croatian authorities at the port of Rijeka, following a tip-off from American intelligence, on suspicion that the ship was being used for arms smuggling. The ship's cargo, loaded at Bar, Montenegro, included 14 transport containers of chemical pellets, declared as activated carbon and water filters, which was in fact of explosives, consisting of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. The captain and chief officer of ''Boka Star'' were acquitted, but Balić was found guilty in absentia of smuggling arms and issuing forged documents, and sentenced to six years in prison. Following his arrest in Greece and appeal to the Croatian Supreme Court in 2014, he was released from prison and his previous sentence was dismissed as the original judgement was ruled to be invalid. The charges were reduced to those of a customs violation and he is awaiting retrial.

Sale

The ship was sold by Balić in 2003 to the Esprite Shipping Corporation, based in the Marshall Islands, but the continuing legal proceedings resulted in the ship being kept under control of the court and being towed to Pula military port. Eventually, in 2011, ''Boka Star'' was sold at auction to the Croatian company Splitska Plovibda, but resold for scrapping in Aliağa, Turkey as the Togo-flagged ''Star'' in February 2012.

References

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External links

Boka Star, moored in Pula in 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugor
Arms trafficking
Merchant ships of Yugoslavia
1983 ships
Ships of the Yugoslav Navy
Merchant ships of Montenegro
Ships built in Yugoslavia
Maritime incidents in 2002