Thread: Freeport bomb scare

Published On:
Saturday, August 20, 2011

By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter


FREEPORT: A voyage on board the Discovery Cruise ship turned into terror for hundreds of passengers when sailing was halted on the ocean as a result of a bomb scare.
US Coast Guard and bomb squad technicians boarded the vessel some 18 miles off Florida and conducted an initial cursory search of the ship, according to reports reaching The Tribune on yesterday.

After a search of the ship revealed nothing, sailing was resumed into Port Everglades, where a contingent of law enforcement officers from Customs and Border Protection, FBI, and the Broward County Sheriff Office were on hand for the ship's arrival.

The vessel docked around 4am. A full scale two-hour sweep of the vessel was conducted by Broward County Sheriff Office Bomb Squad personnel and bomb detection dogs.
The ship left Lucayan Harbour at Grand Bahama with around 900 passengers on board sometime around 5pm.

Mike Jachles, of the Broward Sheriff's Office and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, told The Tribune the Miami Dade Police Department received a 911 call around 9pm of a bomb on board Discovery.

The information was forwarded to the Broward Sheriff's Office that a man fitting a certain description had a gun and a bomb on board the ship.

"We immediately notified our homeland security office, the federal authorities, Coast Guard and Florida Department of Law Enforcement," Jachles said.

He reported that US Coast Guard personnel boarded the ship at sea around midnight and did an initial check for the suspect and explosives using TSA (Transportation Security Administration) bomb dogs managed by the BSO.

"Nothing panned out and nobody matched the description given by the caller. No explosive were initially noted," he said.

Passengers were restricted to their cabins and in certain areas of the ship while the search was conducted.

Celia Mackey, a passenger on the ship, said there was no initial emergency announcement by ship officials as to what was going on.

"I was looking out the window and noticed that the ship was not moving; we were just stationary on the water for a while and everyone was trying to figure out what was happening," she recalled.

She said no one was allowed access to go to the ship's information desk to make inquiries.
Ms Mackey - who was travelling with her young daughter - became very concerned and asked a crew member why the ship had stopped.

"I was told there was a bomb scare on the ship and that they can't move until the entire ship has been searched by the authorities," she said.
Ms Mackey said US Coast Guard and officers wearing "Bomb Squad" T-shirts boarded the ship and also searched all passengers' cabins.

"Everyone was very sacred and some persons were even upset because of the long delay and late arrival into Fort Lauderdale," she said.

The five-hour cruise from Grand Bahama usually arrives into Port Everglades around 10.30pm/11pm.
Mr Jachles said that following a two-hour sweep of the ship by Coast Guard, FBI, Customs and Border Protection and BSO, nothing was found and all passengers cleared the ship around 6am Friday.

"We take all bomb threats seriously and so we have to determine their credibility and err on the side of safety for the public and do a complete response as needed," he stated.
Mr Jachles said there is a joint ongoing investigation between the FBI, Coast Guard, BSO and Customs and Border Protection into the incident.

Discovery Cruises will cease ferry operations on September 6. The cruise line has been providing ferry services for many years between Grand Bahama and Fort Lauderdale.
The cruise line has said that it has been losing money for many years and can no longer continue operations.

Source

Had to have been frighting for the passengers!

What are your thoughts on the way Carnival handled this situation?

I can understand they didn't want to cause a mass panic by making an official announcement ... but rumors being passed around could in some ways be even worse.

LuLu, the ship in question was the Discovery...not owned by Carnival.

Note the last paragraph:

Discovery Cruises will cease ferry operations on September 6. The cruise line has been providing ferry services for many years between Grand Bahama and Fort Lauderdale.
The cruise line has said that it has been losing money for many years and can no longer continue operations.