Same place as the bogus Coast Guard boat incident the other day....

By: Scott Saxton, WSAZ Charleston

PUTNAM CO., WV, Nov. 5 -

With the world as it is now, an attack at a power plant gets even more attention. And it comes just days after the news leaked that the coast guard was already looking for a suspicious boat in our region. At this point, the coast guard is not sure whether the two things are connected. It could be a coincidence. But here's the good thing out of this whole mess: AEP says it was a test that security passed.

Putnam County Sheriff Stan Farley says, "Someone tried to come on the property." They came from the river side of the John Amos plant. A female security guard spotted one man and chased him. Then she says he turned and hit her. Farley says, "They were talking some type of foreign language. They got into the boat and took up the river." By the time police got there, only the ripples of the river remained. The men were long gone.

They're described as two dark skinned men, wearing dark clothing. Joe Haynes, with the John Amos Plant, says, "Our security reacted exactly the way we wanted them to." The Kanawha River is very close to the John Amos plant. AEP officials say from time to time people wander on to their property. Two months ago, they wouldn't have thought twice about this incident. Now they do.

September 11th changed that. A recent report from the Coast Guard adds to the concern. The guard says some boat is masquerading as a guard vessel in this region. Haynes says, "We're a little more sensitive to those kind of things, so we have to take that extra little bit of precaution when something like this happens." Joe Haynes says the already tight security at John Amos tightened even more after September 11th. Guards use mirrors to check under cars and trucks, just one precaution to keep much of the Valleys power supply pumping.

The guard who was involved in that scuffle, Patricia Parsons, is okay. She did go to the hospital, but she only had minor injuries. The Coast Guard is looking closer into this incident. They have the discretion with any water incident. They consider this a serious incident, so they're helping out. They can see if there are any connections to the bogus boat.

-- PHO (owennos@bigfoot.com), November 06, 2001

Answers

Link

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 06, 2001.

03 Nov 2001

Alert Raised About Possible Fake USCG Boat

After a boat was reportedly rigged to look like a U.S. Coast Guard vessel was spotted on the Kanawha River, several West Virginia area chemical plants were advised to take extra precautions. Lt. Renee Kern, chief of port operations for the Coast Guard's Huntington office, is quoted as saying: "They should do whatever is necessary to protect the facility if the boat approaches at high speed. We left the decision entirely up to them whether to move vessels in the way, or to shoot, or to use a crane, or whatever."

Coast Guard officials warned the area's five largest chemical and energy plants on 5 October that the boat had been spotted near Charleston. Of the more than 30 chemicals that federal authorities say have the potential for mass destruction when they are in large containers, 28 are manufactured in West Virginia.

Authorities said that the phony Coast Guard boat was spotted at least four times on the Kanawha River from 5 October to 20 October, moving at high speeds or "lurking" around power plants and chemical facilities.

In an 11 October letter sent to 48 area chemical and energy plants, the USCG described the suspect boat as a light gray 20-footer with "US COAST GUARD" written on the side and a bar of lights atop the cabin. The boat had no Coast Guard number painted on its side and no Coast Guard flag. A boat matching a similar description was also allegedly seen in late September on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, though authorities say that the Ohio River sightings are not officially confirmed. Officials said that citizens who see such a craft should contact local law enforcement officers at their earliest opportunity.

http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 06, 2001.