U.S. to Drop Drug Case Against Research Vessel

The U.S. Treasury Department has decided to drop forfeiture proceedings against the Atlantis II, the nation’s premier research ship, and return the vessel to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution without a fine, a lawyer for Woods Hole said Monday.

The ship was seized two months ago in the initial stages of the federal government’s “zero tolerance” anti-drug crackdown after U.S. Customs Service inspectors found a trace of marijuana in a crewman’s stateroom.

‘An Innocent Party’

That seizure and others drew widespread public and congressional criticism and prompted Customs to quietly back away from some cases involving small amounts of drugs or drug paraphernalia. The Coast Guard, which embarked on a similar zero tolerance program several months ago, also has modified its seizure policies in recent weeks.

In a letter sent to Woods Hole Monday, the Treasury Department, which has authority over Customs, said that Woods Hole, owner of the Atlantis II, was “an innocent party,” according to Raymond Svetina, a lawyer for the institution.

Woods Hole had “no knowledge of the controlled substance on board” and had taken “reasonable precautions” to prevent the Customs violations that prompted the seizure, the letter said. The letter was signed by Salvatore R. Martoche, acting assistant Treasury secretary for enforcement.

A Customs spokesman in Los Angeles said Monday that he was unaware of the letter, but that an announcement about the Atlantis II seizure was expected today.

The 210-foot vessel, crammed with sophisticated scientific equipment, was seized on May 18 as it returned to the United States after an extended research trip off the coast of South America. The ship was undergoing a routine Customs inspection in San Diego when marijuana residue and two pipes were found in a stateroom, Customs officials said.

Now at Sea

The ship was placed under “constructive seizure,” meaning that Woods Hole was permitted to continue operating the vessel while its lawyers tried to resolve the controversy with Customs and Treasury officials in Washington.

Still under constructive seizure, the ship embarked last month on a long-scheduled research voyage in the Pacific and remains at sea.

The Atlantis II is considered the top ship in the American research fleet because it carries on its deck the Alvin, a deep-diving submersible vessel that has been used in numerous oceanographic discoveries.

Alvin and a remote-controlled “electronic eyeball” called Jason Jr. caught the public’s fancy in July, 1986, when Robert Ballard of Woods Hole used the Alvin to locate the wreckage of the Titanic and Jason Jr. to photograph it.

According to the Treasury letter, the forfeiture proceedings will be formally terminated after Woods Hole pays the expenses of the seizure. However, Svetina said Monday that he has been told informally that Woods Hole may not have to pay any expenses because its personnel, rather than the Customs Service, have operated the ship during the entire seizure period.

Richard F. Morris, the crew member in whose stateroom the marijuana was found, pleaded guilty last May to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. Morris, 27, of Buzzards Bay, Mass., was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and fined $100.