Security Breach

Sunday September 16, 6:49 pm Eastern Time
Luxury ships weather bomb threats, news void

MIAMI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) cruise ship from coming into Miami on Sunday while it swept the port after finding a security breach in the Port of Miami's passenger terminal.


The three-hour delay reflected heightened security at airports and ports around the country since hijackers used commercial passenger planes to attack New York and Washington Tuesday.

The Coast Guard said an open door was discovered leading to secure areas late Saturday. Officers conducted a full security sweep of the port overnight.

The Voyager of the Seas, which can carry 3,114 passengers, was set to depart Miami later in the day.

Also Sunday, Boston harbor was reopened an hour after two bomb threats shut it down. The Queen Elizabeth II and her sister ship, the Caronia, waited just outside the harbor as the bomb sweeps were done. The ships had been turned away from New York, where piers were being used in the World Trade Center cleanup.

The nearly 1,800 passengers on the Queen Elizabeth II, which left Southampton, England, on Monday, learned of the devastating attacks while crossing the Atlantic, and suddenly the pleasure cruise turned somber.

People were just in shock," said Alfred Baum of England.

He said entertainment on the ship was canceled as passengers scrambled to use satellite telephones to reach loved ones in the United States.

``It was the most horrible experience not to be with our loved ones, just to hold them,'' said Melanie Paige, a 28-year-old New York City resident whose brother works in the financial district.