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PHILIPSBURG--A bomb scare on board a cruise ship docked at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facility on Wednesday afternoon turned out to be a hoax.
The threat sparked a large scale security alert after a security officer reported that a crew member of one of the four cruise ships had told him around 4:00pm that she was carrying a bomb.
Security immediately informed the police, who rushed over to the cruise terminal, which was shut off from all traffic. Police, Port Security and the captain of the vessel discussed the situation. A search of the vessel was carried out and the vessel was cleared of any threats.
A source said later that the crew member, who was said to work on the Celebrity Reflection, had intended the comment as a joke.
Police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson stated in a press release: "Port St. Maarten and police, after receiving the call from the cruise ship, carried out its security protocols in such an event. The investigation done by the police authorities indicated that a female crew member was in the process of passing through security of the cruise ship when the metal detector went off. Cruise ship security asked that person what she had in her pocket and she replied, 'A bomb.'"
After the all-clear sign was given by Cruise Ship Security and the police around 4:45pm, the port complex was reopened and operations continued as normal. Traffic had to be diverted as a result of the bomb hoax, which caused the traffic to back up for approximately an hour.
The captain of the vessel, local police authorities and the Prosecutor's Office decided in consultation with each other to turn further investigation over to the U.S. authorities.
The police press release stated that the name of the cruise line and vessel would not be released due to further investigation.
Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Tourism, Economic and Maritime Affairs Claret Connor visited the harbour facilities to receive a first-hand briefing on the incident. They were provided with a detailed report by Harbour CEO Mark Mingo, Harbour Head of Security Roberto Levenstone and Police Commissioner Carl John.
Both Ministers stressed that such actions that threaten the corporate and economic image of St. Maarten are taken very seriously. The Ministers also discussed with the harbour executives and the police commissioner the legal framework in dealing with these issues. Government will follow up on this incident with the relevant international authorities.
