No bomb at Seattle port terminal

Seattle: US Customs officials evacuated one of North America's largest ship container terminals in Seattle and called in the bomb squad after a cargo container alarmed bomb-sniffing dogs.

Seattle Police determined there were no explosives in the container, but officials are still checking for hazardous materials and are not prepared to give an all-clear, port spokesman, David Schaefer said.

Authorities set up a 2,000-foot (610-metre) perimeter around Terminal 18, just south of downtown Seattle, Schaefer said.

The US Coast Guard also established a 300-yard (274.3 metre) perimeter in the water.

"We've determined that there are no explosives," said Schaefer.

The port evacuation follows a series of major security scares in the last week since British authorities said they had foiled a plot to blow up planes from London to the United States.

Most recently, a woman panicking from claustrophobia caused a Washington-bound flight from London to make an emergency landing in Boston and sparked a major security threat on Wednesday.

The container raised suspicion when a screening using gamma ray technology about the contents' density did not match the items listed on the ships' manifest.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Tara Molle said the ship's inventory list indicated the container held oily rags.

Bomb-sniffing dogs detected the possible presence of explosives. All nonessential port personnel have been evacuated, Schaefer said.

The containers came from Pakistan and the vessel originated in Hong Kong, according to the Seattle Times.

An official from the US Customs and Border Protection was not immediately available.

The 196-acre (79-hectare) Terminal 18 is the Port of Seattle's largest container terminal and one of the largest in North America.

On Wednesday, Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and a senior member of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, urged authorities to establish a program for screening all cargo containers.

"We have the technology. We know the risks," Markey said in a statement. US seaports handle 2 billion tons of freight each year but only about 5 percent of containers entering the country are examined on arrival.