Circumstantial Evidence

The mystery of the Red Sea mines appears to be as close to solution as it is ever likely to be. Three months after ships traveling in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez began to suffer damage from unexplained explosions, the Egyptian government has concluded that the mines were 1) of Soviet manufacture and 2) almost certainly planted by Libya.

It had been known for weeks that a Libyan cargo ship, the Ghat, had crisscrossed the waterway just before the explosions began on July 9. Soon after, it was noted that mines had exploded in both the southbound and northbound shipping lanes of the Red Sea, in waters that the Ghat had traveled. Later, French officials who inspected the ship at Marseilles ascertained that its rear loading dock appeared to have been lowered at sea and damaged by waves. Finally, British experts who examined an unexploded mine reported that it was an "ultrasophisticated" device made by the Soviet Union, one of Libya's primary arms suppliers. All in all, declared U.S. State Department Spokesman Alan Romberg in supporting Egypt's position last week, there was "persuasive circumstantial evidence" linking Libya to the explosions.