Charleston's Wando terminal - Possible “dirty bomb” on docked ship prompts evacuation of termina
- ASKET Operations Team
- Jun 15, 2017
- 2 min read
Latest from 03:40 EDT @USCGSoutheast
Unified Command determines No existing threat to port. Terminal will reopen and safety zone has been lifted
Last Updated Jun 15, 2017 3:36 AM EDT
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Federal and state authorities are investigating the possibility that there's a "dirty bomb" on a ship at a local terminal, reports CBS Charleston, S.C. station WCSC-TV.
Coast Guard officials say the FBI is on-scene.
The terminal was evacuated.
Fourteen agents were on board with radiation detection technology and were investigating a limited number of containers, the station says. According to emergency officials, no radiation has been found.
A Coast Guard statement says authorities were made aware at 8 p.m. of a potential threat in a container aboard the vessel Maersk Memphis.
#Update A 1 NM safety zone has been established around the vessel while law enforcement authorities investigate the threat.
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) June 15, 2017
"The Maersk Memphis is currently moored at Charleston's Wando terminal, which has been evacuated while bomb detection units from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies investigate the threat," the Coast Guard said.
The ship's owner, the Maersk Line, a U.S. corporation, said in a statement to CBS News that all crew embers were safe on shore.
Maersk says the Maersk Memphis is a container vessel built in 2007.
The Coast Guard says a unified command was set up to oversee the coordinated response.
Authorities were seen taping off a ship.
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office, Hazmat and EMS crews were also on scene.
Workers say they were told to leave the terminal at around 9 p.m.
Boaters say they were also escorted off the water due to the situation.
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