Liberian Ship Held 6 Miles off Coast of Manhattan

kyw news 3, Philadelphia | 9-11-02

[dommie]

This just in... U.S. Coast Guard is holding a Liberian ship off the coast of Manhattan. They are reporting radioactivity on board the vessel. More on this when it breaks.

http://terrornews.net/home/article.asp?idx=554

[LurkedLongEnough]

More on this when it breaks.

Let's hope that it just doesn't break, ok?

[Mo1]

kyw news 3, Philadelphia ???


You from are the area Philly area???

[ShadowAce]

You from are the area Philly area???

huh?

[dommie]

yes i'm from the philly area.

[John H K]

Better described as "Liberian-Registered" probably.

This ship has almost certainly never docked or even gone near Liberia in its entire life, and likely not a single Liberian has stepped aboard ir at any time.

It's a "Flag of Convenience"...Liberia (along with Panama, and a few other countries...have low or non-existent ship registration fees.

[RCW2001]

Coast Guard flags
'radioactive' ship

The Coast Guard escorted a cargo ship back out to sea from Port Newark last night after an inspection turned up mysterious radiation readings, Port Authority police said.

Authorities said the Liberian-flagged 708-foot container vessel M/V Palermo Senator was guided beyond the 12-mile limit where the inspection continued.

The ship was moved because "fluctuating levels of radioactivity of unknown origin" were discovered on it, a Port Authority spokesman said.

The readings were discovered after the Coast Guard, which routinely checks out "high-interest vessels," intercepted the ship earlier in the day and brought it to Port Newark for a joint inspection with the U.S. Customs Service and Port Authority. Authorities would not disclose the ship's cargo or the nationality of its crew.

Leo Standora

[SunnyUsa]

"Let's hope that it just doesn't break, ok?

ROFL!!! Imagine how made the peta-enviro-nazis would be if it did.....

[RCW2001]

The link for Coast Guard flags 'radioactive' ship

[Nexus]

Ship ordered back to sea while feds examine cargo for radioactivity

The Associated Press
9/11/02 5:29 AM


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.

[KSCITYBOY]

This is good news - They are able to detect these things. Since 9-11 I have been concerned about a ship containing a nuke or nuke material entering a US port. Good work by our folks.

[Mo1]

Ok .. you have mail ..

Sorry for intruding on your thread .. I just have a question :^)

[PJeffQ]

From http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/homefront.html

Traces of Radioactivity Prompt Ship Search

N E W A R K, N.J., Sept. 11 — A ship detained after traces of radioactivity were detected in its cargo was temporarily ordered back to sea, the U.S. Coast Guard said today.

The Liberian-flagged container ship, the M/V Palermo Senator, was ordered to stay in a security zone six miles offshore while the inspection continues.

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

While no evidence of stowaways was found, they determined that the ship's cargo posed a potential risk to public safety.

Officials would not provide any details about the cargo.

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

— The Associated Press

[Poohbah]

They also have less onerous shipboard regulations than we do.

Gee, ya think we might get more US-registered ships if we eased up on our excesses?

[all4one]

"The ship was directed to Berth 92 at the Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal after a Coast Guard team boarded the vessel Tuesday."

Why would a ship that has not been totally cleared of suspicion, be brought to our shores to berth at a Marine Terminal? Wouldn't it be a safe bet to bring additional inspectors off-shore to inspect the ship more thoroughly? If there were a nuclear device it would detonate in a populated coastal area. I can see that Homeland Security has not done a thorough review of proceedures that would help protect U.S. citizens.

[Poohbah]

A nuke manufactured by the Russians or China, and for that matter, all of the countries that are known to possess them are unlikely to be so radioactive as to be detected from outside of a ship or a container on the ship. I do think however, that a crudely built nuke could be really hot, but even that could be shielded using lots of lead and concrete if DU is not available.

You presume that the device was competently handled in transit--some of the Islamakazis may not understand the idea that nukes might not appreciated being handled in the same manner as your luggage at Denver International...

[Magnum44]

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[EternalHope]

Neutrons emissions are very difficult to shield. All nukes emit a small amount of neutrons, but very few other things do.

Apparently we have been able to build detectors capable of detecting neutrons specifically, instead of just radiation in general.

The effective range of these detectors is classified. All we know is that it is very limited (a few hundred feet if we are very lucky).

[Semper Paratus]

It may be the radioactivity picked up was left over from a previous shipment.
I'm sure the shipping logs will be checked over.