"At approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday authorities were made aware of a potential threat in a container aboard the vessel Maersk Memphis in the Port of Charleston. The Maersk Memphis is currently moored at Charleston's Wando terminal which has been evacuated while law enforcement units from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies investigate the threat," the Coast Guard said in a bulletin.
The USCG Southeast said about two hours later on its Twitter that the investigation was ongoing.
Local media reported, citing the Coast Guard, that the authorities launched the investigation after a man named George Webb posted a video on YouTube, saying there could be a "dirty bomb" aboard the ship docked at the Port of Charleston loaded during its recent trip to Pakistan.
So-called dirty bombs add radiation to the standard explosives.
According to FleetMon tracking website, the ship's latest port of call before Charleston was Newark.
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