Body found on container ship believed to be African stowaway

PITTSBURGH — A body found on a container ship at a U.S. cocoa import facility in Pennsylvania on Monday could be a stowaway who had traveled from West Africa, a Port Authority official said.

The body was discovered as workers unloaded a cargo ship carrying cocoa beans that docked in the Philadelphia port on Thursday but had taken days to unload, said Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Pennsylvania Regional Port Authority.

Police could not yet identify the corpse or determine cause of death. Blackburn said a coroner was on site.

Blackburn said stowaways have been found on ships in the port before. “But it’s been a long time since the last time that we’ve had a stowaway, either alive or dead,” he said.

Pier 84, where the body was found, serves as a busy import facility for cocoa beans and products.