Ship searched for nuclear material
Initial tests found elevated radiation levels in cargo hold

NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
Sept. 12 - U.S. Special Operations forces on Thursday joined members of the Energy Department’s Nuclear Emergency Search Team on board a Liberian-flagged container ship off the coast of New Jersey to search for nuclear material, Pentagon officials told NBC News. The search of the M/V Palermo Senator was based primarily on intelligence suggesting a ship matching its description could be carrying nuclear material or a nuclear device into the United States, the officials said.

The Coast Guard ordered the ship back to sea, saying it wanted to ascertain if there was ‘a potential risk to public safety and security.’

THE SHIP, WHICH arrived in New York Harbor late Monday, was ordered back to sea on Wednesday as a result of the intelligence and initial tests showing slightly elevated radiation levels in a cargo hold, the officials said.

A Coast Guard boarding team took command of the vessel at 2:30 a.m. and took it 6 to 12 miles offshore, saying it wanted to ascertain if there was “a potential risk to public safety and security.” A Coast Guard cutter was guarding the vessel.

Members of the Energy Department’s NEST team, charged with responding to nuclear emergencies, began to test the ship’s 655 containers later in the day.

The container ship M/V Palermo Senator, shown in a photo from the Web site of the Hamburg, Germany, shipping company that owns the vessel.

The military team joining the hunt on Thursday was bringing specialized equipment capable of looking deep into the stacked containers.

The Pentagon officials, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said that the vessel was one of five searched upon arrival based on intelligence indicating that terrorists may be trying to bring nuclear material or a nuclear device into the United States.

After Coast Guard inspectors found unspecified “paperwork problems” and reported hearing some suspicious sounds in some of the vessel’s cargo holds, it was ordered to Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey for further checks.

There, tests by Energy Department inspectors produced contradictory results, with one showing elevated radiation levels and another indicating normal levels. As a result, the ship was ordered back to sea for a definitive determination on whether any radioactive material was on board.

A U.S. government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News that the NEST scientists said the initial readings indicated the presence of both gamma and neutron emissions, which can be an indicator of an improvised nuclear device.

But the official stressed that there is nothing to indicate anything more than background radiation at this point.

The NEST squad was established in 1974 to seek out and dismantle “improvised nuclear devices,” but has been used over the years to investigate suspicious radiological sources.

The Palermo Senator is owned by the firm Reederei F. Laeisz of Hamburg, Germany, and regularly plies the route between New York and the Far East.

NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
Sept. 12 — Clay tiles from Spain are believed to be the source of elevated radiation levels detected on a Liberian-flagged container ship that has been detained off the coast of New Jersey for several days, defense officials told NBC News on Friday.

WHILE INDICATING that a final determination had not yet been made, the officials, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said it appeared to be attributable to 15 containers of the tiles, which are known to emit low levels of radiation.

Special Operations forces dispatched to the M/V Palermo Senator were redeploying, the officials said, but it was unclear if the vessel had been cleared to return to port. The container ship M/V Palermo Senator, shown in a photo from the Web site of the Hamburg, Germany, shipping company that owns the vessel.

Pentagon officials told NBC News on Thursday that the vessel, which arrived in New York Harbor late Monday, was one of five searched upon arrival based on intelligence indicating that terrorists may be trying to bring nuclear material or a nuclear device into the United States.

After Coast Guard inspectors found unspecified “paperwork problems” and reported hearing some suspicious sounds in some of the vessel’s cargo holds, it was ordered to Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey for further checks.

There, tests by Energy Department inspectors produced contradictory results, with one showing elevated radiation levels and another indicating normal levels.

The ship was ordered back to sea Wednesday for a definitive determination on whether any radioactive material was on board.

It was then boarded by members of the Energy Department’s Nuclear Emergency Search Team and Special Operations forces with specialized equipment capable of examining the contents of the ship’s 655 containers without opening them.

The NEST squad was established in 1974 to seek out and dismantle “improvised nuclear devices,” but has been used over the years to investigate suspicious radiological sources.

The Palermo Senator is owned by the firm Reederei F. Laeisz of Hamburg, Germany, and regularly plies the route between New York and the Far East.

Its last port of call was Valencia, Spain, but in the past several weeks it stopped and picked up cargo in a number of ports, including Bandar Abbas, Iran; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Karachi, Pakistan.