US probes for a Qaeda tie to Hub

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether Islamic extremists infiltrated the nation by stowing away on Algerian liquefied natural gas tankers that docked in the Port of Boston and has concluded several stowaways may have had links to indicted Al Qaeda terrorists, officials disclosed yesterday.

In a letter to US Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Malden, the department said that the US Coast Guard formed a joint task force with customs and immigration analysts in October to determine whether "Algerian nationals have been using maritime transport to illegally enter the US and whether these individuals have links to Islamic extremists."

"The research is ongoing," the letter said. "Preliminary analysis shows a handful of illegal migrants may have had indirect associations with those indicted for the Millennium Bombing Plot."

The letter, however, cautioned that the information comes largely from what the migrants told law enforcement officials and the department "has not been able to verify what the associations, intentions, or operational activities of these individuals were when they entered the United States."

The letter did not detail when the suspected Algerian infiltrators are believed to have arrived, how many they numbered, or whether they are still in the country.

"There is an ongoing investigation about smuggling rings out of Algeria, not necessarily related to terrorism," said a senior national security official, who asked not to be named. The official said the investigation, being directed from Washington, goes well beyond Boston and LNG tankers. He said there is also concern about Miami and New Orleans, among other ports.

Markey requested the information in March after former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke published a memoir in which he wrote that after the disruption of Al Qaeda's "Millennium Plot" in late 1999 to blow up Los Angeles International Airport, national security officials had "learned that Al Qaeda operatives had been infiltrating Boston by coming in on liquid natural gas tankers from Algeria."

Clarke later reiterated the assertion in an interview with a Boston radio station, and his former assistant, Roger Cressey, told the Globe that national security officials considered Boston a "logistical hub" for the terror network before the 2001 attacks and that it suspected that as many as a dozen Al Qaeda operatives had entered the nation by stowing away on the LNG tanker.

The disclosures set off a storm in Boston as local officials complained that the FBI had not told them about the threat. But Kenneth Kaiser, the special agent in charge of the Boston FBI office, revealed that the bureau had put Algerian tankers under close surveillance throughout 2000 and found nothing to prove that suspicion.

In addition, Kaiser and Tom Powers, the head of counterterrorism for the FBI's Boston office, suggested that Clarke and Cressey may not have known that their investigation eventually concluded there were no links. But Cressey said that their information came from "intelligence sources" other than the FBI.

Yesterday, Markey said the new information bolstered Clarke's version of events, calling it "a chilling confirmation that individuals with possible terrorist connections may have entered the US onboard LNG tankers that docked in Everett." He called for "the strongest possible security precautions" for all such future shipments.

"The two incidents they outline in the document both involve stowaways," said Doug Bailey, a publicist for DistriGas, the company that operates the LNG terminal at Everett. "When they talk about possible terrorists, it isn't clear [Markey] is referring to LNG and (it is) less clear he is talking about our ships."

Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the Boston FBI office, noted that the letter said the more recent investigation had not found anything conclusive. She also emphasized that the FBI's investigation in 2000 covered Algerian-based ships and their crews for a certain period.

"Our investigation was for a period of time," she said. "During that specific period of time, it was our opinion that those tankers weren't being used to seed terrorists into this country. That doesn't mean that it wouldn't or shouldn't be looked at again. The issue of terrorism is ongoing. Just because we looked at something once doesn't mean that we wouldn't come back and look at it again."

The letter to Markey, signed by Pamela J. Turner, the department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, noted that "the US Coast Guard has never possessed credible information indicating either a threat to attack an LNG tanker in Boston Harbor or to use an LNG tanker to conduct an attack on the city of Boston."

DistriGas has not received an Algerian-flagged LNG tanker at the Everett terminal since May 2001 and has not received an LNG shipment picked up in Algeria by another nation's tanker since January 2002. The company has emphasized its commitment to security and safety but says the decision to switch suppliers was made for business reasons.

Ed Flynn, Massachusetts director of public safety, also said that the Coast Guard told him after the Clarke book came out that there are no longer any Algerian-flagged vessels or crews coming into Boston. "This shows that pre-9/11, there was not the level of interjurisdictional communication that was needed," Flynn said. "It is also fair to say after 9/11 we have a different law enforcement environment in Boston and other cities as well."

The letter also included more than two pages of information about actions taken to secure liquefied natural gas tankers coming into Boston. These include boarding vessels before they enter the harbor and establishing a secure moving safety zone around each tanker. More than 20 agencies from surrounding communities are notified in advance of LNG transits and a unified command post is established for each visit, which must be announced four days in advance.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino fought the resumption of LNG shipments after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The tankers were temporarily banned from the harbor, but a city lawsuit failed to keep that ban permanent.

Although the letter talked about ways in which the city of Boston -- especially its fire-rescue department -- is included in the planning, Merita Hopkins, the city's corporation counsel, said that was not enough.

"The letter talks about various actions, but I don't see local authority included," she said. "I am sitting in City Hall and looking out at Boston Harbor, and in this day and age, we continue to have a problem . . . of knowing the issues and the enforcement measures that are being taken on a waterway that goes through the heart of our city. We are still excluded from the conversation."