Palestinian Stowaways Found on Cargo Ship in Massachusetts

On Thursday, crewmembers from a New Bedford, Mass. bound refrigerated cargo ship, found two stowaways from Palestine hiding onboard.

The PRINCE OF SOUND was about 3 miles offshore of New Bedford when the crew discovered the two men in the forward crane pedestal during a sweep of the boat. Officials say the stowaways have been on the ship since at least November 2, when the ship was last docked in Gibraltar.

The FBI interviewed the stowaways and report they are not terrorist and pose no threat. The two men were reportedly trying to make it to Canada.

Scott Lang, the mayor of the port town of New Bedford, Mass., where the cargo ship still sits docked, says this incident highlights the need his town has for the Coast Guard to return to the city’s port.

In 2003, after more than a century, the Coast Guard left New Bedford, and moved their two cutters to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. The Coast Guard has said the move of the Tahoma and the Campbell, allowed them to expand their coastal security.

Pictured: New Bedford Harbor