Shipping companies have been firmly asked by the agency to adopt rigorous security procedures, and the International Longshoreman's Association will be reporting suspicious cargo to officials.

The Cypriot officials made a decision to unload the suspicious cargo of 98 containers from the ship and keep it in Cyprus.

Vessels that sank in fair weather had suspicious cargo, sent no mayday or the crew vanished.

In the US the main purpose of scanning is to detect special nuclear materials (SNMs), with the added bonus of detecting other types of suspicious cargo.

Most of them have not been made public to safeguard the identity of those who provided information about suspicious cargo or the way in which such information was collected, officials said.

He was in charge of controlling suspicious cargo.

An initial search of the ship found no suspicious cargo, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Following indications of a suspicious cargo on board, the ship was escorted to Singapore's port for a detailed search by domestic enforcement agencies.

The job of trying to spot suspicious cargo and check it before it leaves the port lies with the customs service, port officials said.

Bad times have forced him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without asking questions.