Holy Crap! cargo ships filled with WMD???

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-02-19 01:57pm

If this turns out to be true.... damn, i don't even want to think about it.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articl ... 20Standard

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2003-02-19 01:59pm

I hope they either keep them in the middle of nowhere in the ocean or the weapons are only rumors... Yikes.

RadiO · Post by **RadiO** » 2003-02-19 02:05pm

Is it me, or does it seem more and more like we're all living in a poor paperback thriller?

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-02-19 02:05pm

shit, all we gotta do is put our OWN ship out there, stage a raid, find some WMD, and volia, done deal.

Coaan · Post by **Coaan** » 2003-02-19 02:08pm

Malecoda wrote:shit, all we gotta do is put our OWN ship out there, stage a raid, find some WMD, and volia, done deal.

If there is chemical weapons onboard and they do try that....we're all fucked. It would make an oil spill look tedious

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-02-19 02:10pm

i find it scary that both the US Navy and the Royal Navy don't want to go anywhere near those ships for fear the captians might scuttle them and send god knows how many chemical or biological weapons to the bottom of the sea.

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2003-02-19 02:11pm

Nothing to be surprised, since with containerized cargo is very easy to smuggle whatever you want, all it takes are the right contacts, a few signed papers (legit or not) and money... No big deal, maritime transportation is one of the easiest wasy to loose WMD's, with over 750 million (give or take a million) daily containers being transported around the world. Let me put it in another way, maritime shipping is one of the most lucrative business in the world, and, due to certain regulations, one where traffic is very easy.

As for scutlling the ship, it's only of concern in close waters if near shore, not in open seas. I say sink them!
(Radio silence is already a crime, by international law, a ship must mantain radio contact frequently, and it constitutes a navigation hazard, it should be boarded and it's cargo confiscated, the women raped and the men turned into slaves for the galleys... Oh, wait...)

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-02-19 02:12pm

RadiO wrote:Is it me, or does it seem more and more like we're all living in a poor paperback thriller?

I was thinking Tom Clancy actually.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-02-19 02:15pm

neoolong wrote:
RadiO wrote:Is it me, or does it seem more and more like we're all living in a poor paperback thriller?
I was thinking Tom Clancy actually.

A bad Tom Clancy. Yikes.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2003-02-19 02:16pm

Well, in this respect, they're doing the right thing. Though, they could probably board and inspect the ships safely, because a massive chemical/biological spill would seal Iraq's fate just as quickly as the discovery of WMD on board.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-02-19 02:20pm

Well, they can't stay out there forever. Might be time to start blocking the ship. And taking the resupply ships and questioning them.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-02-19 02:27pm

The General at the pentagon press conference a few minutes ago couldn't confirm the story at all.

You think this news is strange, check this site out.

www.ready.gov

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-02-19 02:27pm

Captain tycho wrote:
neoolong wrote:
RadiO wrote:Is it me, or does it seem more and more like we're all living in a poor paperback thriller?
I was thinking Tom Clancy actually.
A bad Tom Clancy. Yikes.

yeah, well lots of shit blows up in tom clancy novels....i'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

Crazy_Vasey · Post by **Crazy_Vasey** » 2003-02-19 02:32pm

Holy shit.

Okay so how the fuck do we deal with that?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-02-19 02:35pm

Crazy_Vasey wrote:Holy shit.

Okay so how the fuck do we deal with that?

honestly, i have no idea... but whatever they do it should be as far out to sea as possible. even then the environmental damage would be mind boggling if somethingwent wrong.

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2003-02-19 02:43pm

Crazy_Vasey wrote:Holy shit.

Okay so how the fuck do we deal with that?

The ship is boarded, it's documents and cargo inspected, and taken into custody to a port, where it's cargo will be properly inspected. Meanwhile, the crew is in the jail, being questioned.

If they scuttle the ship, there's still a chance to save it, a ship takes a while to sink, it's not like in the cartoons, where you pull the plug and it sinks imediatelly, it takes time. During that time, it can be boarded, and the drains closed, or the flooded sections isolated.
Now, the dangerous cargo... If they are properly stored, there shouldn't be an immediate problem (short-term or even medium-term), since NBC containers are specially sealed to prevent spills. Of course, in time, the seals will corrode in salt-water, but only if someone allows that to happen.
There is more concern of pollution from the fuel and oil tanks than from NBC containers. (or even from floating containers themselves, I recall one accident, where a ship hit a floating 40 feet container, after it had been tossed overboard months earlier in a storm.)

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-02-19 02:46pm

You'd think that if this wasn't tabloid stuff that news reports from the BBC and CNN would be all over it. That is too big a story not to cover if it's out. I need a better source. Besides, if that was true, the RN and USN would be all over those ships.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-02-19 02:52pm

Without another source, I'm not believing it. It would have hit mainstream media if true.

Korvan · Post by **Korvan** » 2003-02-19 03:00pm

Around Christmas 2002, off the coast of British Columbia (north of Vancouver Island), an American vessel spotted an unknow ship with its running lights turned off. When asked to identify itself the reply came back, "What do you think we are, stupid?"

Being rightly suspicious, the Americans reported this to Canadian maritime control, which only having a radar range of about 50 km, couldn't track the vessel. Maritime control then tried to alert the Canadian Armed forces but were told that the communications people were unavailable and nobody knew how to get in contact with them.

The coast guard was finally contacted, but by this time the ship was long gone. It was likely immigration smugglers, but nevertheless, there is a huge hole in the security of the west coast of North America.

Now I'm not the one to get into a panic everytime there's a terrorist alert, but I think being able to keep track of vessels entering your territory is a pretty good idea. The next ship to sneak in may be carrying something a little more dangerous than some huddled masses yearning to breathe free. (Or even breathe at all since their likely sealed into a cargo container.)

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-02-19 03:00pm

i thought it was odd, not finding it in CNN. I came across the story because it was linked from the Drudge Report. Anyone from the UK around? If so, how trustworty is "Thisislondon.com"??

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-02-19 03:03pm

If it's linked from the Drudge Report, I'd discount it's credibility immediately. Drudge is a hack.

Crazy_Vasey · Post by **Crazy_Vasey** » 2003-02-19 03:04pm

I'm from the UK and I've never heard of it. It's not a major news source AFAIK.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-02-19 03:08pm

The london evening standard is a local paper for london. Last time I was in london (it was unavoidable - and unpleasant) I picked up a copy, it's tabloid trash.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2003-02-19 03:11pm

The story has been picked up by the Independent.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/pol ... ory=379623

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-02-19 03:22pm

403.9 - Access Forbidden: Too many users are connected

Humm

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