Mexico Finds No Drugs on Cuban Ship

TAMPICO, Mexico — No drugs were found aboard the H. V. Hermann, a Cuban-chartered freighter that was attacked by the U.S. Coast Guard after refusing to submit to a search in international waters, the Mexican navy said Thursday.

“Nothing has been found after a round-the-clock inspection that began at 8:40 Wednesday morning, when the Hermann was received by Mexican naval vessels,” a navy spokesman said.

The Panamanian-registered freighter was struck by cannon and machine-gun rounds fired by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Chincoteague before dawn Wednesday after the Hermann’s skipper refused to allow it to be searched for suspected illegal drugs.

The Mexican navy spokesman said the inspection included a search of all the vessel’s cargo areas, ballast tanks, storerooms, anchor compartments and hull. Part of the search was conducted by divers, the spokesman said.