Stowaways suspected in container ship docked in NJ

Stowaways suspected in container ship docked in NJ

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The Coast Guard suspects that stowaways are in a container on a ship that has docked in New Jersey.

Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe says the container was loaded aboard The Ville D’Aquarius in India. The manifest says the container was carrying machine parts to be unloaded in Norfolk, Va.

Customs and Border Patrol agents met the 850-foot-long vessel at Port Newark this morning. The Department of Homeland Security says officials are conducting a “thorough investigation of the vessel.”

More than a dozen ambulances are on the pier.

Rowe says a boarding party heard sounds consistent with people coming from the container.

The ship began its voyage several weeks ago in the United Arab Emirates. Rowe says its last port was in Egypt on June 15.