FBI crime lab examines USS Cole evidence as Navy prepares to send ship home

The USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, on Monday

In this story: 'The bomb was sophisticated' Transport ship en route $4.5 million transport cost USS Cole is stabilized RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN Correspondent Kate Snow and CNN National Security Producer Chris Plante

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI crime lab in Washington is studying several crates full of material gathered from the USS Cole as part of a criminal investigation, a source close to the investigation said Monday.

Most of materials come from the site of the explosion and water beneath the vessel. Seventeen sailors were killed in the apparent terrorist attack, which blew a massive hole in the side of the guided-missile destroyer on October 12 while it was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen.

'The bomb was sophisticated'

Some of the first evidence samples to arrive were swabs containing explosive residue from the bomb, which was apparently aboard a fiberglass boat that pulled alongside the Cole. The crates also contain pieces of the fiberglass boat and fragments of human remains.

INTERACTIVE Timeline: The attack on the USS Cole See a 3-dimensional image of the USS Cole Get the plugin Animation of a transport ship conducting a recovery procedure at sea     ALSO Afghanistan fearful of U.S. military strike after warship attack Cole victims remembered at Arlington memorial     RESOURCES Profiles of the Cole victims Timeline of terrorist attacks against U.S. interests     INFORMATION Information for families of sailors serving on the USS Cole: 1-800-372-5463 Click here for facts about the Arleigh-Burke class destroyer     MESSAGE BOARD USS Cole attack

"The bomb was sophisticated," said a source close to the investigation, adding that whoever was responsible for the blast must have had a well-developed infrastructure to put together this type of device.

It will be difficult to isolate the particular explosive used, since the USS Cole routinely carries explosive materials, the source cautioned.

Transport ship en route

Meanwhile, the giant transport ship Blue Marlin departed Monday for Aden, where the crippled Cole will be loaded onto its deck to begin the journey back to the United States, Navy officials told CNN.

The Norwegian-owned Blue Marlin left Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to take four or five days to reach Aden, according to Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley.

Once in Aden, the ship's crew will work with Navy engineers to position the 505-foot Cole on the deck of the 712-foot Blue Marlin, which is designed to haul offshore oil rigs.

That process is expected to take about seven days as an oceangoing Navy tug, the Catawba, helps to maneuver the Cole into deeper water.

The Cole is expected to arrive in the United States for repairs in late November or early December, Quigley said. The actual destination in the United States has yet to be decided.

$4.5 million transport cost

The Navy expects to pay about $4.5 million to the owners of the Blue Marlin for the shipping contract, Quigley said last week.

The Blue Marlin will lift the Cole onto its deck by letting water into its ballast tanks, partially submerging itself.

With its ballast tanks full, the Blue Marlin's center deck section will be sufficiently submerged to allow the Cole to be positioned over its deck.

Water then will be pumped from the ballast tanks, which resurfaces the Blue Marlin for the trip home with the Cole atop its deck.

Cole is stabilized

A senior Navy official told CNN the Cole would have to be moved offshore five to seven miles to provide sufficient water depth to accomplish the difficult operation.

"The Cole is towable, pushable, movable, (but) not under its own steam," the official said, adding that the Navy is assessing the "basic logistical issues of finding the right (water) depth" for the maneuver to be carried out.

The Cole has been sufficiently stabilized to allow it to be moved, said the Navy official. However, it is unclear if the FBI or other investigators will object that moving the ship might cause evidence to be lost that is needed to investigate the attack.

Meanwhile, the official said, there are no new leads into who was responsible for the blast. The investigation is being carried out by a joint U.S.-Yemeni team.

"We haven't ruled anybody in or ruled anybody out," the official said, refusing to speculate on who had the capability to carry out such an attack. "We still don't know exactly how it was done."

The remains of four of the 17 sailors killed in the bombing were flown back to the United States on Sunday, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The bodies were the last to be returned.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Naval Station Norfolk
U.S. Navy
COMNAVSURFLANT: Central Command, Atlantic Fleet
  • USS Cole Updates
U.S. Department of Defense
  • DefenseLINK Multimedia Gallery: USS Cole
ArabNet: Yemen
  • Near Eastern Affairs: Country Profile - Yemen

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