Citizens Spotlight Nuke Waste Imports
Cape Fear Lookout
by T.J. Brown, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
4:00 am, Thursday October 19, 1995. After having spent the last 36 hours waiting and watching for the freighter Bouguenais, to arrive at the Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point (MOTSU), arrival time is near. I again have the early morning shift for watching for the Bouguenias. The watch is much different from the night before. Last night, all was quiet along the river and at the facility. This morning, activity on the Cape Fear and at MOTSU, is elevating rapidly. It seems only fitting that we have set up at Fort Fischer (an old civil war fort turned tourist attraction) to monitor the government's actions. Claude informed me that we were breaking the law, by making these shipments public, and the possibility of arrest was real. This surprised me. What could be the purpose of secrecy?
I sit in my car with a pair of binoculars, constantly scanning the opposite shore and visible area of the river. I have on the radio, a very conservative talk station, the show makes me cringe with every ignorant word spoken. However it is a good anti-sleep aid. There have been numerous tug boats and/or patrol boats moving up and down the river. I have not yet seen a boat over fifty feet in length enter the area. Every time a boat enters my viewing area from the south, I scan it very closely. If I have any questions about the make, I run up the steps to the telescope, which aids tremendously in identifying the vessel.
At about 4:40 I see a dim light come into view. The lighting on vessel is very faint. It looks as though it could be another small boat. I run up to the telescope and zero in on the ship. It is hard to tell the size because I can not make out any bow lights. However, I see the shadow of the ship pass in front of some fixed lights along the shore. It was the largest ship to come in this morning. Within minutes MOTSU, across the river, lights up with activity. I run down the steps to wake up Claude, I told him that I think our ship has come in. He looks at his watch and said "Right on time, just like last year."
To Lou Zeller, Hot Stuff and Nonsense (S/R 9 companion piece).