Seattle port terminal evacuated after dogs hit on possible explosive in containers from Pakistan

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 15, 2006

SEATTLE The Port of Seattle set up a perimeter of nearly half a mile around one of its terminals Wednesday after bomb-sniffing dogs indicated that two containers from Pakistan could contain explosives.

Dozens of non-essential personnel were evacuated from Terminal 18, on Harbor Island south of downtown Seattle, a Port of Seattle spokesman said. A bomb squad used explosive charges to cut into the containers, which may have detonated any explosives therein. The squad was examining the contents.

Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said agents had been using a “gamma-ray” device to peer through the containers’ steel walls to determine what they contained. Some of the items did not appear to match what was listed on the containers’ manifest, Milne said.

That isn’t uncommon, Milne said, but the containers were then subjected to bomb-sniffing dogs, per standard procedure. Agents also tested for hints of radiation before cutting into the containers, but detected none.

The Port of Seattle bomb squad apparently did not believe there was a chance of causing a larger blast by using the small charges to gain access to the containers, said spokesman Mick Shultz.

“They wouldn’t have done it if they thought there was a chance of that,” Shultz said.

Shultz said the containers were supposed to contain oily rags, which are often shipped internationally for recycling or use in packaging.

Nearby businesses were advised to keep their workers indoors.

Milne said the ship had originated in Hong Kong and made stops in China before arriving in Seattle on Monday.

Terminal 18 covers nearly 200 acres, making it the port’s largest container terminal and one of the largest in the nation. It serves more than 20 steamship lines and receives more than 40 vessels each month.