WASHINGTON -- A Cambodian naval vessel has seized an American merchant ship off the coast of Cambodia and forced it into the port of Kom Pong Sum, the White House announced today.
President Ford considers this "seizure an act of piracy" and warned that failure to release the ship immediately "will have the most serious consequences," Press Secretary Ron Nessen said.
On learning of the seizure of the Mayaguez an American registered ship, Ford called a National Security Council meetings and instructed the State Department to demand the immediate release of the ship.
Press Secretary Ron Nessen told reporters the crew of 39 Americans were aboard the unarmed "container" ship.
Nessen told reporters the ship "was reportedly fired upon and boarded by Cambodian armed forces from a Cambodian naval vessel."
The seizure took place in the Gulf of Thailand. About 60 miles off the coast of Cambodia.
Ford instructed the State Department to demand the immediate release of the ship.
Information regarding the seizure came from the ship radio, Nessen told reporters. He said the ship's radio has stopped transmitting.
Nessen the said the ship's probable last port was Hong Kong, and the destination was Thailand.
The cargo of the ship was unknown, Nessen said.
He said the seizure occurred eight miles off a small rock island which is claimed by both Cambodia and Vietnam.
Ford learned of the seizure in his intelligence report this morning, Nessen reported.
The Mayaguez belongs to the Sealand Corp. of New Jersey.
The seizure of the ship was reminiscent of the taking of the American intelligence ship U.S.S. Pueblo by North Korea during the Johnson administration in the mid-1960s.
Nessen's official statement said:
"We have been informed that a Cambodian naval vessel has seized an American merchant ship on the high seas and forced it to the Port of Kompong Som.
"The president has met with the National Security Council. He considers this seizure an act of piracy. He has instructed the State Department to demand the immediate release of the ship. Failure to do so would have the most serious consequence."
Nessen was asked if there were U.S. naval vessels in the area or American airplanes within striking distance.
"I'm not going to be able to go beyond the statement," he said.
The point of seizure, Nessen said, was about 60 miles off the coast of Cambodia. The approximate location of the seizure in geographical coordinates was 9 degrees, 48 minutes north latitude, 102 degrees 53 minutes east longitude.
The Gulf of Thailand is the body of water between Cambodia and South Vietnam on the east and Thailand and Malaysia on the west.
It is on the opposite side of the Vietnam from the Gulf of Tonkin where, in 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats reportedly fired on two U.S. navy destroyers, the U.S.S. Maddox and the U.S.S. Turner Joy, an act that led President Lyndon Johnson to order the bombing of oil storage facilities in Haiphong and sharply escalated the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
