No problem on ship at after threat claim at Charleston port

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — A person who raised alarms about a possible “dirty bomb” on a container ship approaching the port of Charleston in South Carolina was being questioned Thursday after searches found nothing dangerous.

Coast Guard Lt. James Zorn said the Charleston office received a telephone call about a “dirty bomb” aboard the Maersk Memphis container ship around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The ship docked about a half-hour later.

Zorn said the Coast Guard contacted other federal, state and local agencies and set up a unified command that ordered the evacuation of the Wando Terminal of the South Carolina State Ports Authority in Mount Pleasant and set up a 1-mile safety zone around the dock on the Cooper River.

A “dirty bomb” is not a traditional nuclear weapon, but an explosive device containing radioactive or radiation-polluted material. By 3:30 a.m. Thursday, officials had scanned four suspect containers aboard the ship and determined there was no danger.