Special Ops boarding ship to search for Nuclear Material off the NJ shore

Fox News Alert | 9/12/02 | Brytani

[Brytani]

Fox News just broke in with an alert. Special Op's are now searching a Liberian flagged ship 8 miles off the coast of NJ looking for nuclear material. More information to follow.

[mhking]

Maybe I have too vivid an imagination.

You've been watching too many James Bond flicks...

[Travis McGee]

Explosive-ordnance-disposal experts with the Joint Special Operations Command are on call to fly in and assist the scientists in taking apart anything they find,

You had best believe they were on the first helo over the ship, along with NEST and SEALs. Not to mention there are lots of EOD qualified SEALs.

[EternalHope]

By converting the atoms in nearby materials to radioisotopes over time, neutron-emitting material can cause non-radioactive materials to become radioactive.

Good post.

One addition: American nukes emit low enough levels of neutrons that it would take quite awhile to make the surrounding materials noticeably radioactive. A crude enough device might emit a lot more, but the very nature of the beast limits the amount of neutrons released.

The plutonium (or U-235) must be kept separated enough to avoid starting a chain reaction. Furthermore, the amounts used are not likely to be dramatically more than critical mass. The bad guys of the world would make more bombs rather than use up their supply of fissile material all in one place.

[gridlock]

The Ship:

Palermo Senator

Containerschiff
Klasse: GL+100A5 E
Baujahr: 1992
Flagge: Liberia
DWT: 45696 Tonnen
Tiefgang: 12,51 m (draft)
LüA/Breite: 216,19 m / 32,20 m (LOA/WOA)
Containerstellplätze: 2.680 TEU
Kühlanschlüsse: 150
Geschwindigkeit: 19,0 kn = 35,18 km/h (speed)
Hauptmaschine: BV Sulzer 6 Zylinder mit 16.440 KW = ca. 22.358 HP (engine)

[Redleg Duke]

SEALS are special ops.

[piasa]

If that's the case then we definitely want to know who was responsible for the thing. Given this ship's itinerary from the far east it makes for some interesting possibilities beyond just al Qaeda, don't you think?

[Thud]

Nuclear Emergency Search Team!

[Chad Fairbanks]

Thanks for the ping... I've been following this rather closely...

[freeperfromnj]

none of the other stories I've read said the intel was out there before the ship arrived (prompting the elevated alert, perhaps?)

Exactly. Just look at the timing of it all. I guess we should really worry if we get bumped up to red status

[Space Wrangler]

The laws of search and seizure are quite diffrent on the sea. The Coast Guard, or any other LEA can board and inspect without the cause for a warrant.

[Conservative til I die]

Nah, it will turn out not to be serious. I expect they'll have a press conference soon announcing it turned out to be a comb on board, like last night's diverted "attempted hijacking."

[spunkets]

"neutron emissions from some of the atoms

There are no neutron emmisions from any of these heavier elements. The neutrons come from the splitting reactions. The only elements that release neutrons are light ones like lithium and carbon that are really loaded up with extra neutrons from a reaction source. They are extremely short lived and would be gone before anyone could collect them.

All this says is that if their are neutrons detected there is a quantity of fissionable material. More neutrons mean the mix contains a higher quantity of isotope, or an isotope with a shorter lifetime.

[johnny7]

Hey dude... the winds blowing hard... SE to E.

No big deal for small amounts.

What I worry about is the delivery of an old, leaky warhead.

The radiaiation would still be present on the container vessel.

Food for thought.

[harpseal]

If there is a nuke aboard ( a very big if but with the realm of possibility) the tangos made a big mistake by not detonating it when it got in New York Harbor. IF they detected neutrons rthen it is quite likely the vessel has transported a nuke in the past. The teams aboard should be ab;e to prevent any damage to the USA. I do not feel our borders are secure from someone smuggling a nuke.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Dog]

What do you make of this??

Explosive-ordnance-disposal experts with the Joint Special Operations Command are on call to fly in and assist the scientists in taking apart anything they find,

If I read that passage right....Special Op's assist in the disarming of a device after a NEST Team has located one...am I right?

And that is what is more than likely happening right now......right.....tell me I'm wrong.

[seeker41]

Thanks again. This is what is bothering me, it may not be there now but something has been on that ship at some point that is radioactive.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

If someone hasn't said it before, watch for the lefties to insinuate that this is a 'manufactured' crisis to lend support to Bush's 'unjust' war on Iraq. I give it a day, two at the most. If it hasn't already started.

[piasa]

A: Hide it in a shipment of cocaine.

LOL, heck, just hide it amid all of that Chinese-made Walmart stuff.