Ship Detained While Searched For Radioactivity

September 11, 2002

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A ship detained by federal and local authorities after traces of radioactivity were detected in its cargo has been temporarily ordered back to sea.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that the Liberian-flagged container ship, the M/V Palermo Senator, had been ordered to stay in a security zone set up six miles offshore while the inspection continues.

The ship had been directed to Berth 92 at the Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal after a Coast Guard team boarded the vessel around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Team members then heard suspicious sounds in several of the ship's cargo holds, but they could not determine their source.

Concerned about a possible stowaway situation, guard officials decided to conduct a thorough pierside search. While no evidence of stowaways was found, they determined that the ship's cargo posed a potential risk to public safety.

Reporters were barred access to the berth area while the search was going on and officials would not provide any details about the cargo, saying only that guard members would stay on the ship until the probe is completed.

Capt. Craig Bone, the guard's top official at the port, said in a prepared statement that the boat will remain offshore "until the condition of its cargo can be ascertained and safely offloaded."

There have been no threats articulated against the ship, and the inspection is consistent with inspections of other high-interest vessels, the Coast Guard said. The U.S. Customs Service also was assisting with the investigation.

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