THE YOSEMITE experienced a law enforcement boarding for inspections and drills by the US Coast Guard and local police early Thursday morning in the Port of Ashtabula. WARREN DILLAWAY / The Star Beacon
Published October 27, 2006 07:23 am - ASHTABULA - - Homeland security hit home early Thursday when federal and local law-enforcement officers boarded a cargo ship at Pinney Dock. The Yo ...
Security hits home
Star Beacon
Law-enforcement officers board foreign freighter in port
By SHELLEY TERRY
Staff Writer
sterry@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA - - Homeland security hit home early Thursday when federal and local law-enforcement officers boarded a cargo ship at Pinney Dock.
The Yosemite, owned by Greece but registered in the African country of Liberia, sailed at 6:30 a.m. into Port Ashtabula.
The U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs officers, the U.S. Coast Guard, city police, including the department's Special Operations Group and police dogs, greeted the crew and immediately boarded the vessel.
"We do random boarding to ensure the safety of the vessel," said Chief Petty Officer Tim Woody of the Coast Guard in Ashtabula. "It was a great opportunity for us to work with other law enforcement (agencies) on all levels."
It was the ship's first time in a U.S. port.
After two hours of checking paperwork, performing inspections and drilling with the ship's 27-man crew, officials found nothing amiss, Woody said.
The ship carried titanium slag, which is a mineral, and previously had stopped in ports in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, police said.
Residents should not be alarmed, Woody said, as Thursday's boarding is more routine now since the terrorist attacks against the United States of America on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Coast Guard made changes, refocused it's efforts, and developed new tools and policies to protect the American people, according to the Coast Guard's Web site.
The military branch's new security posture developed since 9/11, now includes:
- A Maritime Safety and Security Team - - federal maritime SWAT teams - - highly trained, strategically located and specially equipped to provide an extra layer of security to key ports, waterways and facilities;
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