Bomb scare shuts Port's Terminal 18

Seattle's Terminal 18 on Harbor Island was closed for about three hours Wednesday after bomb-sniffing dogs raised suspicions over two containers that had arrived from Pakistan two days earlier.

The Port of Seattle Bomb Squad and the Hazardous Material Team from the Seattle Fire Department found no evidence of explosives.

There were no signs of any other biological, radiological or chemical threat, according to Port of Seattle spokesman Mick Shultz.

Agents with U.S. Customs on Wednesday evening were closely examining the containers, which were filled with textiles such as clothing, bedding and discards intended for rags, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Milne.

Nothing unusual was expected to be found, he said.

The containers were originally among 72 offloaded from the MV Rotterdam that were targeted for closer inspection by Port officials using a risk-assessment grid applied to all incoming container ships, said Milne.

They were scanned by a gamma-imaging device, which is like an X-ray machine. Possible objects not on an inventory list were seen in two containers, said Milne.

The scanner may have actually picked up air pockets between the 6,900-pound bundles of material, Milne said.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in, and they reacted to both containers, according to Milne.

The possible threat prompted officials to close the terminal and establish a 500-yard safety zone surrounding the terminal and a 300-yard safety zone along the Seattle waterfront, a Coast Guard official said.

Shultz said no other vessels were due in Wednesday.

About 70 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union — workers who operate loading and unloading machinery and control the flow of containers — were evacuated just before lunch, as were several dozen truck drivers.

After the fruitless search, Milne said dog handlers explained the animals may have "hit" on the containers if they had been used to ship fireworks or been touched by dockloaders with explosive residue on their hands.

The cargo containers were put on board the Seattle-bound Rotterdam from a another vessel somewhere in Asia, Milne said. The Rotterdam originated in Hong Kong and made its last stop Aug. 5 in Pusan, South Korea.

In April, 22 illegal immigrants from China who stowed away on the Rotterdam were found at Terminal 18 when security guards saw them roaming around.

The Rotterdam arrived in Seattle on Monday, said Milne, and it can take a couple days to get the ship unloaded and inspected.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.