The State - News from March 22, 1989

U.S. Customs agents in Honolulu seized a research vessel owned by the Navy and operated by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and arrested a crew member from San Diego after a search turned up a small amount of marijuana on board, authorities said. The search of the 196-foot ship, the Thomas Washington, turned up 4.5 grams of marijuana hidden in a crewman’s berth, Customs officials said. The crewman, Kenneth G. Racca Jr., faces charges of importation and possession of a controlled substance, authorities said. The ship, the institute’s second largest research vessel, docked at Honolulu Harbor after a trip to American Samoa. It left San Diego nearly a year ago for research in the Pacific. Officials said the ship could be returned to La Jolla-based Scripps after an administrative petitioning process and payment of a fine.