Scrawled Bush threat sparks US port scare

LOS ANGELES - A bomb threat against President George W. Bush and his "Jewish gang" scrawled in a cargo ship prompted authorities to shut down part of a major California port today until investigators determined that no explosives were on the vessel.

Officials shut down a terminal at Port Hueneme, about 96 km north of Los Angeles, after a dock worker discovered the message inside the refrigerated cargo ship, arriving from Guatemala with a load of bananas.

Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said the threat, which was written on a metal pillar in the hold of the ship, the Mild Lotus, read: "nitro + glycerin, a gift for gw bush and his jewish gang."

Nitroglycerine is an explosive liquid that can be used to manufacture explosives like dynamite and for construction and demolition purposes.

Authorities initially said that the entire port was shut down as a precaution but later said that only the terminal and surrounding area were closed to civilian traffic while bomb squads searched for explosives.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to search the ship, several surrounding vessels, cargo and buildings. Divers inspected the hull of the ship.

A US Coast Guard spokesman said ship had Panamanian registry but had last docked in Guatemala. An investigation was underway.

State officials who assess possible threats discounted a link to terrorism, but said they would monitor the situation.

"We don't see any apparent connection to terrorism," said Chris Bertelli, a spokesman for the California Office of Homeland Security.

The port of Hueneme, 96 km north of Los Angeles, is the only commercial deep water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco and serves as a point of import and export for automobiles, produce and forest products.

It is also the only military deep water port between San Diego and Puget Sound in Washington state.

With about half of all US imports arriving at the country's 361 ports each year, a militant attack on the maritime sector could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, in addition to the human toll.

But despite a series of security improvements since September 11, 2001 -- including physical security, ship tracking and identification procedures -- officials say large gaps remain in the long supply chain between the origin of goods and their final destination.

About 10,000 different ships make roughly 72,000 port calls in the United States each year. Only 5 per cent of the roughly 9 million containers that come to the United States are examined upon arrival. Officials check them based largely on risk assessments.

- REUTERS