Oct. 23, 1962 - United States patrol planes have spotted 25 Soviet merchant ships on the way to Cuba, their courses unchanged in the last 24 hours. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced this at a news conference this evening. He said that he had sent orders to the Navy to “interdict” these and other vessels headed for Cuba tomorrow. He said that his orders to the Navy contained instructions to sink, if necessary, any vessels that refused to comply with the terms of the quarantine. The conditions are, the Secretary said, that ships must either turn away from Cuban port, submit to search and seizure if they intend to reach Cuba, and obey orders to alter their destinations if they are carrying offensive weapons. Mr. McNamara said he expected the first contact with Soviet ships in 24 hours unless they changed course.
