Officials did not find any stowaways after more than 24 hours of searching a ship at Port Newark where U.S. Coast Guard officials heard sounds coming from a cargo area during a routine inspection.

Officials suspected there may have been stowaways on board, but were not certain which container was the source of the noise. Inspectors worked overnight checking containers, and examined 450 out of 2,000, according to the Homeland Security Department.

The ship, called the Ville d’Aquarius, originated in the United Arab Emirates on May 30 and stopped in ports in Pakistan, India and Egypt before arriving in the U.S.

Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe told NBC 4 New York that the agency was doing a routine boarding at 3 a.m. as the ship was anchored in Ambrose Channel, the main shipping channel serving the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Inspectors “heard sounds coming from one of the containers in the hold consistent with the sounds of people inside,” Rowe said.

Numerous agencies were alerted, and authorities began bringing containers onto the pier for closer examination.

The ship has 2,000 containers altogether.

Officials say they get stowaways in New York harbors about six times a year.

(Source: NBC New York)