False alarm, scroll for updates…

Via Drudge, here’s the story:

Authorities set up a half-mile perimeter around a terminal at the Port of Seattle on Wednesday after bomb-sniffing dogs indicated that at least one container recently unloaded from a ship could contain explosives.

Dozens of personnel were evacuated from Terminal 18, on Harbor Island south of downtown Seattle, a port spokesman said. A bomb squad was set to examine the container and determine its contents.

The container was taken off the ship because of questions about a manifest, port spokesman David Schaefer said.

“The bomb-sniffing dogs did what bomb-sniffing dogs do, and it caused us to be worried there might be explosives,” Schaefer said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Mike Zolzer said the container was supposed to contain oily rags, but authorities apparently found items that did not match that description.

Zolzer said he did not know where the ship originated.

Everyone’s covering the Ramsey case, so there’s very little on TV.

From the Post-Intelligencer: (emphasis mine)

Bomb squads are responding to Terminal 18 on Seattle’s waterfront after a canine bomb team found possible explosives in a container, the Coast Guard said this afternoon.

Mike Milne, spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service, said “a couple of (cargo) containers were set aside for standard exam” and a CBP dog trained to detect explosives “alerted on it.”…

A 300-yard safety zone has been established around the terminal. The origin of the ship that delivered the containers was not immediately known, but a worker at the terminal reported that the containers may have been from Pakistan.

Fox is also reporting that the containers (two of them) are from Pakistan. Don’t I remember something else going on in Pakistan?

Update:

Quote o’ the day: “The bomb-sniffing dogs did what bomb-sniffing dogs do, and it caused us to be worried there might be explosives.”

And, a slideshow of the evacuation.

Update: We’re blowin’ holes in the side of containers that may contain bombs to find out if they contain bombs. Braver men than I.

Bomb experts inserted a camera inside the containers. They determined there is no radiation, but are trying to figure out what it is, said port spokesman David Schaefer.

Investigators usee a device to blow a hole through the steel side, so they could get camera inside.

Update: Well, this is good:

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.

And, more on the route the containers took to Seattle:

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

Hopefully nothing, but a busy day in the transportation security industry.

Update next day: Here’s the follow-up from the Post-Intelligencer.

No explosives or radioactive materials were found when the Port of Seattle bomb squad searched the containers. One was loaded with new textiles, such as shirts and pants. The other was filled with old textiles that would likely be made into rags.

Ripples from the scare quickly reached the nation’s capital, where Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and other members of Congress called it a “wake-up call” for tighter port security on both coasts.

The containers in question had been set aside for routine inspection based on a computerized targeting system designed to identify potential security threats, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Milne.

The system targets cargo based on factors such as country of origin, consignee and contents as listed in the bill of lading, Milne said.

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