Posted on: Friday, September 21, 2001

The September 11th attack
Coast Guard armed patrols to monitor cruise ships here

Advertiser Staff

In an effort to protect Hawai'i's ports, three heavily armed Coast Guard cutters will patrol offshore Hawai'i and monitor cruise ships in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The three Coast Guard cutters home-ported in Hawai'i will monitor offshore moorings and anchorages of cruise ships and protect the Honolulu International Airport reef runway. The Coast Guard will also monitor all large passenger vessel terminals.

There may be random boardings of vessels.

The security measures for incoming cruise ships will be in place until March 19, 2002.

Each cruise ship departing from its port of origin will be required to provide the Coast Guard with a manifest of its passengers. It was by this method the Coast Guard was able to detain two passengers from a cruise ship in Miami on Sunday.

The security measures are necessary to provide for the safety and security of the public, cruise passengers and all vessels in the waters of the United States, the Coast Guard said.