The U.S. ship MV Cape Ray sailed into the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro on Tuesday to handle the unprecedented transfer and destruction of about 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons.

U.S. government cargo ship has been fitted with two machines designed to neutralize the most toxic chemicals -- including mustard gas and the raw materials for sarin nerve gas -- that were removed from Syria as part of the international effort to destroy its chemical weapons.

With the Cape Ray in port and the Ark Futura expected late Tuesday or early Wednesday, police closed roads around Gioia Tauro's port to create a 1-kilometer (.6 mile) exclusion zone.

Destroying chemical weapons at sea is unprecedented, but U.S. officials say the process is a proven, safe way to neutralize toxic chemicals.

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