The FBI released this photo of a tanker similar to the one stolen in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Posted on 11/13/2004 1:19:04 PM PST by FairOpinion
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A missing fuel tanker, initially thought to be stolen for parts, is causing concern among federal law enforcement officials, who are appealing to the public for help.
The 44-foot gasoline tanker was stolen in April from a parking lot in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
"We're very concerned. It's been almost seven months, and we still haven't found it," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The FBI released this photo of a tanker similar to the one stolen in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
"Williams said investigators initially believed the tanker was stolen for parts or to dump toxic waste illegally.
"If that were the case, we would have found the carcass" of the tanker, she said."
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This is why they are worried now. At first they thought it was an "ordinary" theft, but when they couldn't find it, even with some effort, they are concerned what it could be used for.
would make a VERY LARGE Molotov coctail ... FIND IT, boys ...
Well, she is a govt. employee :-)
Well, we weren't worried 7 months ago, but now that it will be just about impossible to find, we are a bit concerned.
But, with gas at more than $2 a gallon, my bet is that a couple of Governor McGreevey's personal associates, maybe, Vito, Guido and Vincenso, have gone into business for themselves.
It'll turnup.
I think that they'll need to describe some distinguishing characteristics if they expect anybody to find it. I saw one just like it at the local gas station the other day.
They can't find a tanker what makes us think they can find a terrorist?
Exactly. And with the Mexican truckers now rumbling through our borders daily you wonder how much the government is concerned about these things at all.
I am sorry, but they all look alike to me.
That's a truckist thing to say :-)
This is serious. It is big enough that possibly a nuke could be shielded from detection to some(not all?) sensors, or chemical weapon/s.
Yep it sure does. Immigration reform at war time, no way. Monitoring our borders, what a wild notion. Run away gas trucker, heck not like it is a plane or anything.
OT; Guido, a new wrinkle in the story. :-)
I don't have a "Vito" but I've got a Vincenze.
"This is serious. It is big enough that possibly a nuke could be shielded from detection to some(not all?) sensors, or chemical weapon/s."
I agree, that it's serious.
And so does the FBI. That is why they are asking for people's help. I am sure they have been searching for it diligently, and said they think they would have found it by now, if it had been an ordinary theft, so to speak.
The fact that they didn't hints at some alarming possibilities.
The terrorists would choose something like that, precisely because most people can't tell them apart and are used to seeing tanker trucks all over the place, so it's virtually invisible.
I think the government should install some tracking devise on tanker trucks, something that is hard to find and disable, so if someone steals one, they would have to get it to a "safe" place, to do it, and hopefully we could find them before they manage to disable it.
"It'll turnup."
Yeah but WHERE and in how MANY pieces?
They spend all their time trying to rationalize why every automobile in the country has to have a black box, for our own safety of course, yet they ignore something like this.
You wrote: The terrorists would choose something like that, precisely because most people can't tell them apart and are used to seeing tanker trucks all over the place, so it's virtually invisible.
Yes, and we will have a large gathering of USofA citizens in DeeCee on January 20. THAT is why this tanker truck MUST be found BEFORE then.
Someone knows something.
Bill
"I think the government should install some tracking devise on tanker trucks,"
"They spend all their time trying to rationalize why every automobile in the country has to have a black box, for our own safety of course, yet they ignore something like this."
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Thanks for completing my thoughts.
For those who haven't heard and don't know what we are talking about, please read:
Privacy Experts Shun Black Boxes (electronic data recorders now mandatory in all cars)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1277390/posts
"Some safety and privacy experts are reacting with apprehension, others with all out condemnation over a recent ruling by the National Transportation Safety Board to require electronic data recorders or "black boxes" in all new cars manufactured in the United States.
UK Terror Suspects Were Building Dirty Bomb - Time (Reuters)
October 3, 2004
http://news.orb6.com/stories/nm/20041003/security_britain_report_dc.php
" British terror suspects arrested in August were trying to construct a dirty bomb and planned to attack targets in London, including the Heathrow Express airport rail line, Time magazine reported.
Information from computer files seized with the group revealed plans for specific attacks in London including "blowing up high-rise buildings housing multinational companies" by driving bomb-laden cars into underground garages, Time said in a release on Sunday of material from its latest edition.
Other targets included the Heathrow Express, a rail line between the airport and London, and an unspecified synagogue. There were also plans for "hijacking a gasoline tanker and smashing it into a building."
I don't understand why they are so concerned. Using this type of tanker for anything remotely terroristic is nearly impossible. Think about the problems:
1. Gasoline? This tanker has a capacity of about 9,000 gallons but try buying that much gasoline on the black market without getting caught. Also trying to buy that much gas a tankful at a time and you die of old age before you fill it half way. Not to mention gasoline is notoriously hard to ignite. A lit cigarette can be dropped in a full bucket of gas and the cigarette will be snuffed out. A full tanker is very hard to ignite as well. Most tanker explosions are caused due to damage to the tanker and escaping liquid gasoline being allowed to vaporize. The explosion is directly proportional to the amount of vapor created not the amount of liquid present. You get a small explosion but a big fire as the liquid gas burns. Not great for terrorism.
2. Explosives or ANFO? Won't work. All liquid tankers have what are called baffles (steel plates with small holes in them except milk tankers for health reasons). They are divided into three (or more) sections. This is to prevent "surge" when a tanker accelerates or brakes. The liquid tends to want to rush backward or forward, repsectively and the baffles help limit that. Only one chamber is accessible, why do you need access to a chamber liquid flows to easily, and there is no way to hand fill these other chambers. One third of a tanker can be accomplished using a Ryder truck so why make the trouble for yourself? This brings us to another problem.
3. Something called the "Truck Route". Pesky little things but strictly enforced. Just about every city of any decent size has one and they, almost without fail, take you anywhere but high value targets. Suburban, congested and downtown areas are all usually off limits to a truck that big. Mostly due to size but also for the road surface. A tractor that size runs about 80,000 pounds loaded full, is 8" wide and 14" tall. They can do terrible damage to city rodways because they aren't built for the heavy traffic so trucks are diverted away. Kind of like a dinosaur in your downtown area is a dead giveaway something isn't right.
For hauling freight they rock. As a weapon they suck. Stick you finger straight up in the air. Now bend your finger so it points to halfway between 11 and 12 o'clock. That is the maximum rate for turns at anything but putt-putt speeds. After 15º there is no way to prevent a jack-knifed tractor and trailer. It is easily disabled by shooting the tires which makes it unstable. And forget the Hollywood truck crashes, chases, collisions. It is total bull. A modern tractor-trailer has a distinct advantage over a car but that's about it. Bridge abutments, concrete, walls, buses, etc. will bring it instantly to its knees. I can think of a whole lot better vehicles for terrorists attack and this is definitely not one of them.
I held a Class A license, with hazardous, tanker and school bus attachments and I drove tractor-trailer rigs in the USMC, MOS3531.
God bless our troops wherever they may be.
They could do far worse with a tanker than crashing it into a building.
Terrorist like to use commercially available items to make weapons. A tanker loaded up with gasoline, mixed with detergent would make an excellent napalm bomb in a mall where the blast and burns would be horrendous on the victims. All of us should be concern.
Well then the FBI should go on the MSM to sound the alert
I suspicion it's appearance has been altered
Hitler must be rolling in his grave at all the aids available today to keep a minute by minute record of our every move...He must be saying "Damn..."
I don't understand what the problem is, with thousands of trucks with unknown loads entering our country daily from the most corrupt nation on earth.
Be happy, have a beer.
Tankers have a problem that most of the public doesn't know about. The lines below the barrel hold quite a bit of fuel after the first stop. Obviously terrorists wouldn't have to be concerned about that. When something hits a tanker with fuel in the lines and causes rupture of the same you dump about a hundred gallons in one shot. Add a spark and you're good to go.
I imagine one of those filled with ammonium nitrate and the other additive to give a bit of an edge would do lots more damage than we saw in Oklahoma City. At one point the FBI was concerned about 20 or 40 tons of missing ammonium nitrate from a place in WV. That turned out to be a clerical error. You have to wonder about a place where it's conceivable that someone hauled off that much fertilizer unnoticed.
The time to sound the alarm is long since gone, boys. The horse has bolted.
Forget it. By now, this thing is either primed and ready to go Ka-boom or it's been stripped down, painted and resold in little pieces.
Aug 2005 bump
And bump again. Wonder how this turned out.
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