Diverted Cruiseliner Allowed To Sail On
Ship Was Held Off Honolulu
POSTED: 1:51 p.m. HST April 23, 2003
UPDATED: 10:48 a.m. HST April 24, 2003
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HONOLULU -- The cruise ship Legend of the Seas was allowed to continue to Kona Thursday after having to make an emergency stop in Honolulu.
The ship was finally released just before one 1 a.m. to continue on to the Big Island.
Federal law enforcement officials diverted a cruise ship Wednesday bound for Hilo after two notes containing threats were found in a ladies restroom.
A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean said the Legend of the Seas is back on its itinerary and will head to Maui Friday and Kauai on Sunday before returning to Honolulu on Sunday.
The FBI said the Legend of the Seas was en route to Hawaii from Ensenada, Mexico, when the two anonymous notes containing
vague threats to the ship were found. The ship is being diverted to waters off Honolulu for boarding by federal and local investigators
from Honolulu.
The letter found on the Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas said lives will be lost if the ship touches U.S. soil.
The FBI said the letters were found late last night by a crewmember and passenger. The letters were found in a women's restroom. It's not clear yet if they were written by the same person.
The ship is under Coast Guard escort. Spokeswoman Lt. Jacqueline Brunette said the passenger vessel will be moored about
a mile offshore.
Coast Guard boats ferried close to 100 law enforcement officials to the ship to conduct a massive search for anything suspicious.
"I want to stress that it's just a threat at this point it was very non-specific it didn't articulate any means or methods by which the threat would be carried out," FBI agent Daniel Dzwilewski said.
A team of investigators from the Coast Guard, the FBI, the Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Customs and U.S. Border Protection
are investigating the letters.
Although bomb sniffing dogs are with the search teams, a Royal Caribbean spokesman said there was no mention of any bomb threat in the letters. The FBI refused to comment on the exact wording of the threat.
"It threatened the... again, no one specifically, but it threatened harm to the passengers of the ship itself passengers and crew," Dzwilewski said.
Owned by Miami-based Royal Caribbean, the Legend of the Seas carries some 2,500 people including crew and passengers.
The ship will not be allowed into port until it's completely searched and cleared of any threats, according to authorities.
The FBI said the Legend of the Seas was en route to Hawaii from Ensenada, Mexico, when the two anonymous notes containing
vague threats to the ship were found. The ship is being diverted to waters off Honolulu for boarding by federal and local investigators
from Honolulu.
The letter found on the Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas said lives will be lost if the ship touches U.S. soil.
The FBI said the letters were found late last night by a crewmember and passenger. The letters were found in a women's restroom. It's not clear yet if they were written by the same person.
The ship is under Coast Guard escort. Spokeswoman Lt. Jacqueline Brunette said the passenger vessel will be moored about
a mile offshore.
Coast Guard boats ferried close to 100 law enforcement officials to the ship to conduct a massive search for anything suspicious.
"I want to stress that it's just a threat at this point it was very non-specific it didn't articulate any means or methods by which the threat would be carried out," FBI agent Daniel Dzwilewski said.
A team of investigators from the Coast Guard, the FBI, the Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Customs and U.S. Border Protection
are investigating the letters.
Although bomb sniffing dogs are with the search teams, a Royal Caribbean spokesman said there was no mention of any bomb threat in the letters. The FBI refused to comment on the exact wording of the threat.
"It threatened the... again, no one specifically, but it threatened harm to the passengers of the ship itself passengers and crew," Dzwilewski said.
Owned by Miami-based Royal Caribbean, the Legend of the Seas carries some 2,500 people including crew and passengers.
The ship will not be allowed into port until it's completely searched and cleared of any threats, according to authorities.Copyright 2003 by TheHawaiiChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
