Port of Morehead City closed by explosives incident Full Video

MOREHEAD CITY, NC (WTVD) -- Authorities say they've shut down the Port of Morehead City after containers carrying explosives were punctured.

They've not yet said how it happened, but they said 9 containers were involved.

There have been no injuries and the problem has been contained to land. There is nothing in the water.

Morehead City Police said explosives experts from Cherry Point EOD were on scene with Morehead City firefighters and the Coast Guard to deal with the situation.

According to Morehead City Fire Chief Wes Lail, the chemical involved is Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), which is one of the most powerful high explosives known.

It's the same material that 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to use to bring down a Northwest flight approaching Detroit on Christmas day.

Highway 70 is closed from 4th St in Morehead City to the Morehead-Beaufort high rise bridge.

Also, officials were recommending a voluntary evacuation of the downtown Morehead City area and telling people to stay away from windows and doors. No foot or vehicle traffic was permitted in the port area.

Carteret County Emergency Management said it expected the area to be closed off for most of the day Tuesday.

Morehead City is one of the deepest ports on the East Coast - dealing in large amounts of sulfur products, phosphate and rubber. Last year, it exported more than 2,000 tons of material classified as "military."