Ship bound for Zimbabwe may return home, says Chinese official

* Story Highlights
* Chinese Foreign Ministry: Ship blocked from unloading its cargo may go home
* Ship, carrying large amounts of weapons, refused by South Africa, Mozambique
* Fears its cargo is destined for landlocked Zimbabwe, now suffering political crisis
* U.S. has asked other southern African countries not to allow the ship to dock

(CNN) -- A Chinese ship that was blocked from unloading its cargo in South Africa may return to China because of difficulties at African ports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday.

The ship, which is suspected to be carrying weapons destined for Zimbabwe, left South African waters Friday after that country's High Court ruled that the cargo could not be transported over South African roadways to landlocked Zimbabwe -- where violence continues in a dispute over election results.

It was last believed to be headed toward Angola, South African officials said.

The United States has asked that other southern African countries not allow the ship to dock, a senior U.S. administration official in Washington said Tuesday.

Deputy U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey told CNN the United States has been "tracking this vessel for a few days now and we don't think it is appropriate for anyone to provide additional weapons in Zimbabwe as they are going through a political crisis."

The United States has contacted South Africa and Mozambique, as well as China, regarding the ship's movements, Casey added.

The United States is "pleased no country in the region has allowed the vessel to offload" its cargo of weapons, Casey said.

Jiang, speaking in Beijing, said it's up to the shipping company to determine if the An Yue Jiang would return to China.

After Friday's High Court ruling in South Africa, dockworkers in the port of Durban said they would not handle the cargo, fearing the arms would be used by the Zimbabwean government against its own people.

The ship sailed away from the port even before the court's order was delivered to the captain, a South African government source told CNN.

The ship was headed for the port of Luanda, Angola, according to the South African Department of Transport, but it is unclear if it has reached that destination.

Another U.S. administration official said the ship's cargo -- which they said includes small arms, rifles and ammunition -- was bound for Zimbabwe's security forces. The official did not want to be identified because the situation is ongoing.

It's "the kind of stuff the police and military would hold," the official explained.

The best case scenario would be for the Chinese to recall the ship, the official added.

Zimbabwe is landlocked and must use the ports of neighboring countries to unload shipments for transit.

The ship also tried to dock in Mozambique but was refused permission, the official said.

China is a major small arms supplier for several countries, but the U.S. official said "the timing of this arms shipment is important" given the instability in Zimbabwe, where tensions are high over the current government's refusal to release the results from last month's presidential elections.

The government of incumbent President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since Zimbabwe won its independence in 1980, has refused to release the results of that vote before a recount.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the election, but the ruling party ZANU-PF claims the MDC engaged in election tampering.

The delay in releasing the results of the vote sparked violence and a government crackdown on opposition members.

In an interview last week with CNN, Tsvangirai said he was concerned about the Chinese ship and feared that the weapons could be used to intimidate voters.

CNN's Wen-chun Fan in Beijing and Zain Verjee in Washington contributed to this report