All incoming and outgoing traffic was halted during the closure, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. DesaRae Atnip.

It was the first time since Sept. 11 that officials closed the harbor for security reasons.

A private security company hired by the state to patrol the harbor was using the dogs to check cargo on about 30 pallets before they could be loaded onto the cruise ship Crystal Harmony, she said. The suspicious pallet contained loosely packaged boxes from a shipment originating in Las Vegas.

The Coast Guard closed the harbor at 8:20 a.m. and re-opened it around 11:30 a.m., said Petty Officer David Mosley.

Representatives with the Honolulu Police Department, the FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Services, U.S. Customs and harbor police investigated the incident, Atnip said.

Crystal Harmony, a 940-passenger liner owned by the NYK Line of Japan, had arrived early this morning from Kahului, Maui, and was scheduled to depart for Kaua‘i about 9 p.m.

Mimi Weisband, a spokeswoman for Crystal Cruises in Los Angeles, operators of the ship, said the boxes contained supplies for the ship's casino.

Capt. Douglas Miller of HPD’s Specialized Services Division said the department sent bomb technicians to investigate. He said the cargo had been scheduled to be loaded onto a cruise liner when the dogs discovered something suspicious.

Alan Murakami, state harbor operations supervisor, said the closure forced ships to wait outside Honolulu Harbor until the all-clear was given, Murakami said.

“Right now a Matson container ship and two Young Brothers barges are being held up,” Murakami said. “They’re just hanging loose out there.”