Vancouver officials test machine that can look inside containers

VANCOUVER (CP-Special) - An scanner that can show an image of a cargo container's contents - including people - is being tested and could soon be used at the Vancouver port, says a Canada Customs official.

Inspectors would use the gamma-ray technology to check for contraband and, more importantly, illegal migrants smuggled into Canada inside containers, said Mike McWhinney, director of Canada Customs in Vancouver.

The need for such technology was heightened by yesterday's discovery of 19 Chinese nationals - all men and mostly young - inside a container on the freighter Hanjin Yokohama when it docked in Seattle.

Their arrival followed Monday's gruesome discovery of the bodies of an elderly Chinese woman and two men, along with 15 malnourished and dehydrated survivors, in a container aboard the cargo ship Cape May.

McWhinney said would-be migrants might be deterred from hiding in containers if they were aware of the new Mobile Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System, which extends an arch-like arm over a container and provides a picture of its contents on a computer screen.

``It would certainly give us, if we were using it today, pictures of people inside,'' he said.

``They're bound to be detected.''

The machine takes under a minute to check a container compared to the current six to eight hours and several staff needed to unload and inspect a container, McWhinney said.

``It's the only one of its kind in existence in the world.''

The smuggled men found yesterday on the Hanjin Yokohama were in good physical condition.

But what U.S. immigration officials - waiting with federal marshals and dogs after being tipped off by customs officers in Hong Kong - discovered in the soft-topped metal container aboard the Cape May was shocking.

When the container door was opened, the barefoot stowaways emerged wearing lightweight clothes, their hands clasped above their heads and their movements wobbly.

``The people looked like they had just been beaten, absolutely wiped out. They could hardly stand,'' said Virginia Kice, an Immigration and Nationalization spokesperson.

The two men and elderly woman found dead in the dark, garbage-strewn interior may have died from exposure a week before the ship docked at Seattle's Harbour Island.

The 15 who survived the two-week voyage in the 12-metre container - which was stacked below four others in the ship's hold - showed visible signs of dehydration and malnutrition. Two were in serious condition yesterday.

``These containers are designed to carry machinery and cargo, not people,'' said Kice.

The two ships in Seattle are the fifth and sixth since the new year found to be carrying Chinese stowaways in containers into West Coast ports.

Vancouver customs officials, who found 25 migrants smuggled in a container last week, have done extensive testing on the $1.5 million (U.S.) cargo inspection machine, which last week was returned to its San Diego developer for some adjustments and servicing.

McWhinney said the machine will be back in Vancouver in about a month, when Canada Customs will make a decision on buying it with the Port of Vancouver, which already spends $350,000 annually on special intelligence policing.

Kice of the INS said authorities have not determined when the container with the stowaways was placed in the hold of the Cape May.

The freighter is owned by NYK, a Japanese shipping company, and the container is owned by Yuk Yat Trading of Hong Kong.

The ship left Singapore on Dec. 19, made a stop in Taiwan and left Hong Kong bound for Seattle on Dec. 27.

Calls to NYK's office in Seattle were not returned.

Crew members said the Cape May encountered rough seas during its crossing from Hong Kong, leaving many of them seasick.

SEATTLE TIMES