That's a very good question. My guess is he brought it aboard in his luggage (officers often carried much more than just a seabag of uniforms). They often carried gifts and merchandise they bought ashore. And it wasn't inspected.

They also had access to the ship's bulk storage, no questions asked. If I bought a tape recorder or stereo in Japan and needed to stash it til I got home, it had to be checked out, tagged, sealed and stashed in the voids. Officers had plenty of locker storage in their staterooms.

The incident I mention occurred in the middle of a month-long North Atlantic cruise, where we were undergoing maneuvers with other NATO units. Maybe he was running low and had decided to finish off his supply.

The empties went over the side in the middle of the night.