Stowaways suspected on container ship in N.J.

A ship named Ville D'Aquarius is docked at the Port Newark container terminal June 27, 2012, in Newark, N.J. / AP Photo

Updated at 2:27 p.m. ET

(CBS/AP) NEWARK, N.J. - Ambulances and law enforcement met a cargo ship at a New Jersey pier on Wednesday after a routine inspection led the Coast Guard to believe that stowaways were inside a container loaded in India.

Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe told CBS Radio News the container was loaded in India aboard the Cyprus-flagged Ville D'Aquarius. The manifest says the container was carrying machine parts to be unloaded in Norfolk, Va.

A Coast Guard team boarded the 850-foot-long vessel outside New York Harbor early Wednesday as the ship prepared to dock at Port Newark. During the routine inspection, the boarding party heard sounds coming from the container that indicated people may be inside, Rowe said.

The boarding party followed protocol and didn't open the container at sea in order to control the situation, Rowe said.

"We have no information on the individuals, and we're not 100 percent sure that there are people in there until we open it," Rowe told CBS New York station WCBS-TV.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Border Patrol agents and police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey met the vessel when it docked Wednesday morning, WCBS-TV reported. Several ambulances and hazardous-material crews were also on the pier.

Once the ship was docked, authorities began unloading containers to get to the one that the Coast Guard suspected might have people inside. Authorities planned to open the container once it was unloaded. The container is deep within the ship.

By midday Wednesday, all but one ambulance had quietly left the pier. Rowe said officials have inspected 80 of the 200 containers authorities believe could be carrying people. The ship has 2,000 containers altogether.

Drew Barry, of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association, said he boarded the vessel at 5 a.m., about 20 miles offshore.

Barry, who left the ship at around 9 a.m., said he thought it would take several hours, if not much of the day, to get to the part of the ship, below the hatch cover, where officials heard banging noises.

"There are at least 30 to 40 containers on top of the hatch cover, and I don't know how many more below it," Barry said. "If there are people down there, with no food and water for days, they're probably pretty desperate by now."

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Wednesday that officials are conducting a "thorough investigation of the vessel."

Meanwhile, a small boat was waiting in the water nearby in case anyone tried to jump off the vessel, CBS New York station WCBS-AM reported.

The ship began its voyage May 30 in the United Arab Emirates, then made one stop in Pakistan and two stops in India. Its last port before Newark was in Egypt on June 15.

[Jessica_Newport_News_VA]

This is nothing new... CMA had a container come in to the NY ports a few years back, the only reason the illegals were found out is because they loaded slate in the rear of the box and USDA puts a hold on every box that has tile, slate or marble to be fumigated for bugs... China Shipping got busted on the West Coast in Long Beach and Seattle. The container in Long Beach was found out because it was leaking (ubber gross), and the one in Seattle was because some how the illegals managed to get out of the container and they were walking around the port.... Not saying it happens all the time, but that's more times then I'd like to know about... I worked in ocean freight since 2003 so this is all post 911...

[fitstshu]

Nothing here, is worth my time.

[tafhdyd]

It is a republican plot to try the fear card again. The container will have people with the plague or smallpox or some such and and the teabag repubs will scream terrorism and how they are only ones that can solve the problem. Yeah, just like they did with the WMDs and Bin Laden.

[AnnieDanny]

Trolling.

[1pheasant1]

Build a fences along the eastern seaboard.

[1pheasant1]

typo - fence

[markamichaud]

Open the door and find out geniuses

[-TeaPartyNation--]

Stowaways suspected on container ship in N.J.
...just think, had these ILLEGALS simply walked across the mexico-Arizona border, the OBOZO regime would have welcomed them with open arms (plus a filled-out voter registration card for the d-cRAT socialist party - and AMNESTY for everybody under 30.)

[nehicks]

Very good comment!

[BUDDYofPA]

And under Romney the stowaways will be converted to Mormonism !!! Then they can blow up our country but be forgiven !!!

[parisdakar]

Take the container off the ship and let it sit on the dock in the sun for a couple of weeks. Problem solved.

[PatrickHenryFan]

So......let me get this straight. Considering the recent ruling by SCOTUS, the Port Authority can ask them for documents, but the current administration has vowed that the Federal Agents will not to cooperate with the state. Hmmm, that means hand them a voter's registration card and cut them loose. So I suppose it's also racial profiling to pick on these poor people simply trying to just get to the promised land. Better not ask any questions about their ethnicity. Could get the agents a trip to the DOJ.
This might be fun to watch...

[bobnjersey]

[So......let me get this straight ...]
---------------------------------
so ... let me get this straight ... you think stowaways on a ship at sea coming into port is the same as someone standing on the street corner ... or driving down the road in arizona?

[prm777]

bobnjersey... clearly, the comparison being made is that whether from Mexico or from overseas, illegal aliens are illegal aliens.

[PatrickHenryFan]

So......let me get this straight. Considering the recent ruling by SCOTUS, the Port Authority can ask them for documents, but the current administration has vowed that the Federal Agents will not to cooperate with the state. Hmmm, that means hand them a voter's registration card and cut them loose. So I suppose it's also racial profiling to pick on these poor people simply trying to just get to the promised land. Better not ask any questions about their ethnicity. Could get the agents a trip to the DOJ.
This might be fun to watch...

[AttyFAM]

You really did not understand the Arizona vs. USA decision. Go back and read the decision - not the news about it. And you might begin with the premise that the USA is a sovereign nation. Arizona is not (despite the ravings of Scalia).

[MichaelinAtlanta]

Do you really think this doesn't happen on every single day at any port in the nation? Newark is not a big port compared to Houston, LA, New Orleans, or even Savannah. My eyes roll when they tell me what a great job they are doing. Those people were probably seeking just a better life. Doubt seriously terrorists would enter USA as stow-aways.

[retiredgustav]

If they are from Cuba all they have to do is touch dry land and they are automatically given a path way to citizenship and a voter's registration card stamped republican..