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Federal, state authorities continue investigation into threat reported at Wando terminal

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) -
Officials with the Coast Guard say federal and state authorities are continuing to investigate a potential threat which was reported at the Wando Terminal Wednesday night.

Coast Guard officials say the FBI is investigating a report of a "dirty bomb" aboard a vessel.

A dirty bomb is composed of conventional explosives and radioactive material.

According to emergency officials, no radiation has been found at this time.

A report by the Coast Guard states that at 8 p.m. authorities were made aware of a potential threat in a container aboard the vessel Maersk Memphis.

"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," Coast Guard officials said.

The Coast Guard says a unified command has been established to oversee the coordinated response.

Witnesses say the terminal was evacuated, and authorities were seen taping off a ship.

The Charleston County Sheriff's Office, Hazmat and EMS crews are also on scene.

Workers say they have since been sent home, and were told to leave the terminal around 9 p.m.

Boaters say they were also escorted off the water due to the situation.

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Charleston, S.C. port terminal evacuated as Coast Guard investigates 'dirty bomb' threat

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) —

**UPDATED, 1:30 a.m., Thursday**

Coast Guard officials confirm the Wando terminal of the Port of Charleston has been evacuated, and part of the Wando River has been shut down to boat traffic because of a threat aboard a container ship.

Capt. Greg Stump, commander for Coast Guard Sector Charleston, said Wednesday local, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, were all at the Wando terminal investigating the threat, and port employees have been evacuated.

Lt. James Zorn, spokesperson for Coast Guard Sector Charleston, said early Thursday morning the ship in question is the Maersk Memphis. The Memphis docked at the Wando port terminal shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Capt. Stump, a YouTube “conspiracy theorist” made a claim about a threat aboard the Memphis, and authorities are investigating the threat out of an abundance of caution.

In two videos posted Wednesday to YouTube, a man named George Webb claims there to be a "dirty bomb" aboard the Memphis, loaded in Pakistan during a recent trip to the Middle East.

According to online records from Maersk Lines, the Memphis did return recently to the U.S. from the Middle East.

Between leaving the U.S. April 14 and returning June 12, Maersk records show the Memphis docked at ports in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Oman, Egypt and Spain.

A "dirty bomb" is defined by several online sources as an explosive device loaded with radioactive or radiation polluted materials. It is not a true nuclear weapon.

According to Lt. Zorn with the Coast Guard, investigators as of Thursday morning had zero credible information to suggest there is a "dirty bomb" aboard the Memphis. Lt. Zorn reiterated that agencies are investigating the threat out of an overabundance of caution.

Lt. Zorn also said Thursday Coast Guard personnel in major ports such as Charleston are outfitted with radiation detection devices. Lt. Zorn says results are not yet available from a radiation sweep aboard the Memphis by Coast Guard Sector Charleston.


As the investigation continues, the Coast Guard has closed portions of the Cooper and Wando rivers within one square nautical mile of the Wando terminal to boat traffic.

Lt. Zorn said to his knowledge there had been no reported injuries or hospitalizations related to the reported bomb threat on the Memphis.

The Coast Guard is the lead investigating agency in this case.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Unified Command determines no existing threat to the port. Terminal will reopen & safety zone has been lifted. 5m USCGSoutheast

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Originally posted by kkina:
Looks like the threat alert has been lifted.

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Unified Command determines no existing threat to the port. Terminal will reopen & safety zone has been lifted. 5m USCGSoutheast

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Originally posted by OMCHamlin:
There was a movie about something like this, in Charleston, once, who remembers the name?

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Originally posted by parabellum:
Let them overreact quietly. There is no reason that the public needed to know the details of this false alarm.

Fear mongering is all it is.

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Originally posted by parabellum:
Let them overreact quietly. There is no reason that the public needed to know the details of this false alarm.

Fear mongering is all it is.

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Originally posted by Storm:
I gave it some thought before I posted this, and decided to go ahead, given the potential consequences, and because I had verified it through a number of sources.

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Originally posted by Deqlyn:
^^^ i would rather them over react then under react in that situation.

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Originally posted by ChuckFinley:

There aren't a lot of good movies out there featuring the Coast Guard - which is truly a shame. They've seen other "quite professionals" elevate their prominence and book deal offers. This might lead to more such opportunities.