Vanderbilt Television News Archive

(Studio) Unarmed American ship, Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian gunboat in Gulf of Thailand.
REPORTER: Bob Schieffer

(White House) [News Secretary Ron NESSEN - says Mayaguez forced to port of Kompong Som; President meets with National Security Council and considers seizure an act of piracy. Failure of Cambodian government to release ship to have serious consequences.] Rptdly., 39 or 40 crew members aboard; no word of injuries or ship's exact whereabouts now. White House states Mayaguez not spy ship and it was in international waters. Reaction mixed on Capitol Hill. [Senator John SPARKMAN - thinks United States should go after ship if Cambodia fails to release it.] [Senator James BUCKLEY - recommends immediate retaliation. Advises President to use immediate air strike.] [Senator Hubert HUMPHREY - urges government to stop, look, and listen before taking most drastic recourse.] CBS learns United States beginning delicate negotiations, primarily through China, to retrieve ship.
REPORTER: Phil Jones

(Studio) Pentagon sources tell Ike Pappas United States Navy ships moving toward Gulf of Thailand. At Sea-Land Services Incorporated, ship builder's reaction to seizure taken.
REPORTER: Bob Schieffer

(Edison, New Jersey) Sea-Land spokesperson says Mayaguez on regular route from Hong Kong to Thailand when seizure occurred. Some cargo obviously military, but spokesperson could not say exactly what was on board; any suggestion that Mayaguez working for government is ludicrous.
REPORTER: Gary Shepard

(Studio) Lloyd Bucher,captain of USS Pueblo, the ship captured by North Korean gunboats in January `68, says administration should take positive and swift action against seizure.
REPORTER: Bob Schieffer