The Laughing Wolf

Flash Traffic: Ship With Bomb?

FNC has just reported that a merchant ship is being escorted out of Philadelphia and out to sea after the captain reports a bomb on board. Updates as more information becomes available.

LW

UPDATE 1: 1253 hours Central. Fox correspondent at Pentagon confirms ship is being escorted off the coast of Delaware, and that there had been prior intelligence about the ship. According to Fox, the ship is of Turkish registry and the captain/master is now refusing to allow a boarding and search; unclear if other cooperation has stopped as well. Ship has cleared harbor and is now off the Delaware coast.

UPDATE 2: 1317 hours Central. Fox is now reporting that the ship had been under observation for some time, and when it docked this morning, the captain became very upset at it being searched, and denied permission to search several sections. At this point, according to sources, the captain then warned of explosions. Because of this, the intel and concern over an incident tied to the 9-11 commission report and the upcoming Democratic convention, the ship was ordered to sea where it will be boarded and searched after it reaches a safe distance from land. Interesting.

UPDATE 3: 1329 hours Central. Still some minor conflicting info, but the ship is apparently named Jenka Tomalu -- this is phonetic spelling not real spelling, nothing avialable on proper spelling so far. What they consider a safe distance may speak volumes too...

UPDATE 4: 1342 hours Central. According to Fox, the captain is now saying that it was just a joke, that he was only joking about there being a bomb/explosions. Fox also reports that the Defense Department had the ship under observation for some time, but that there is no confirmation that there is a bomb on board. So, the question mark in the title remains very valid. From the captain's reaction and his strong desire not to be searched, makes me suspect that there is something he did not want found, be it a bomb, drugs, smuggled goods, or some such other. This remains very interesting on several levels, and is well worth watching.

UPDATE 5: 1431 hours Central. Not much new to report except that the ship is now anchored in Delaware bay, several miles from shore and will be boarded shortly. Fox is now emphasizing, strongly, that there is no reason to believe that there is a bomb onboard. Latest update also appeard to downplay previous reports on intel and that the ship had been under observation by U.S. forces/agencies. Interesting continues to be the word here. One does hope that a geiger counter goes on with the bomb-sniffing dogs, and that given all that the ship is taken apart bolt by bolt as well -- if for no other reason than to discourage any further "jokes" by captains.

UPDATE 6: 1610 hours Central. The proper spelling of the name of the ship is Cenk Kaptanoglu and now more information is available. Fox is reporting that while there is no evidence there is a bomb on board, a multi-agency search will be conducted. The ship, a bulk carrier, has been in the news before. According to this, the ship collided with a dock in the Columbia river in 1999 and sustained some heavy damage. The release also states that the ship was built in 1983, is 568 feet long, and is 36,788 tons. Full technical specifications are here and more here indicating it was built in Korea at the Ulsan shipyards. If the owners are still the same, and records I can find indicate that they are, they are the Kaptanoglu Shipping Group. If this is correct, the ship was scheduled to dock at the Novolog private commercial port on the Delaware River. Previous stops include Durban, from which it was scheduled to sail here. I have not been able to determine ports of call between South Africa and Philadelphia but will see what else I can turn up.

UPDATE 7: 1654 hours Central. Some quick notes of explanation. This story caught my eye for several reasons. First, a maritime attack has been expected and there have been rumors upon rumors for some time. Bulk carriers can be bombs all by themselves (see Texas City for what can happen when things go wrong with bulk cargos), much less with a little judicious help. With the right cargo and the right addition, such could be very nasty. Add to it the news that we had been looking for/observing the ship, indicating that while it may be just breaking news, it also could be something even more interesting, hence the Flash Traffic designation. We are in for some interesting times, and I do believe that we will be hit again and soon, though I am betting on a time closer to the election. That said, I could be wrong and today was a day of interest (i.e., one of the days people are betting on for something to happen). I do not think we will get the full story on this for some time, and that the captain and his “joke” become the focus for law enforcement and coverage. We will see. BTW, am trying to find out the current insurers of the ship, if anyone knows or hears, please do let me know.