Friday, March 11, 2005
US installing nuclear detectors in Singapore port
SINGAPORE: The US government will install radiation detectors in Singapore’s busy port to prevent the smuggling of ingredients for dirty nuclear bombs, US officials said on Thursday.
Singapore, a close ally in the US-led war on terrorism, is the first Southeast Asian nation to join Washington’s “MegaPorts” security initiative which also covers the Bahamas, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Spain.
“The US is going to supply the equipment free of cost as well as training, and maintenance of the equipment,” David Huizenga, assistant deputy administrator of the US National Nuclear Security Administration, told reporters.
The devices, which resemble a gate that can sound an alarm when containers holding nuclear material pass through, should be ready by September, US officials said.
Singapore operates the world’s second-busiest container port after Hong Kong and the world’s biggest transshipment hub, where goods arriving by ship from one port are re-loaded onto a different ship destined for another port.
Singapore has repeatedly warned of potential links between sea pirates and militant networks such as Jemaah Islamiah, blamed for the deadly 2002 bomb blasts on the Indonesian island of Bali and widely linked to Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda.
Local authorities have warned repeatedly that terrorists could hijack a tanker ship laden with liquefied natural gas or lethal chemicals and use it as a “floating bomb” against its port, killing thousands.
reuters
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