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U.S. Navy vessel, three cruise ships cancel St. Maarten calls after
threat of terrorist attack

By John Collins (1)


The visit of the USS Gettysburg to Dutch St. Maarten was cancelled
after a threat of terrorist attacks against three cruise ships
resulted in their being diverted to other ports.

Although the threat of the terrorist attacks was later declared to be
a hoax, the damage had already been done as the popular cruise ship
port, popular for its shopping, lost million of dollars in revenues.

While several cruise ships call at St. Maarten each week, the
cancellation of the Gettysburg was particularly hurtful because it was
the first visit of a U.S. Navy vessel to St. Maarten since the 9/11
terrorist attacks in the U.S.

The visit of a Navy ship, especially one with hundreds of sailors, for
four days, has a big impact on the island’s tourism-based economy.
Sailors are particularly popular with business people in St. Maarten
because, in addition to shopping and patronizing hotels, restaurants
and bars, a number of which count them among their best customers.

“Shock” was the reaction of Janet Taylor-Lambert, the president of the
local chapter of the United Services Organization (USO). “We’re
extremely disappointed by the cancellation and worry about the ‘domino
effect’ because bad news travels fast,” she said.

After that initial jolt, the Norway, the Century and the Carnival
Pride, each with passenger counts of 2,000 or more, all cancelled.

As the Dutch St. Maarten government declared the threat was declared a
hoax, it moved swiftly into a damage control mode in an effort to
control further fall out from the incident.

“St. Maarten is a safe and secure destination,” declared Lt. Gov.
Franklyn Richards. “Punitive measures are being contemplated against
the person behind the hoax.” A local resident has already been
identified by the police.

As a result of the cancellations the town, usually crowded with
tourists, was virtually deserted, much to the dismay of merchants and
taxi drivers.

Richards said the government was informed by the Florida Caribbean
Cruise Association (FCCA) that the ships were diverted because of
weather and not because of letter including the threat. But the
managing director of the Ports Authority said that there were no
adverse weather conditions in the area at the time the threat was
received.

The letter indicated that jet-skis packed with explosives were to be
used as the weapon in the attack. The governor moved immediately to
increase security measures in the port to the top level and the FCCA
announced that there have been no other cancellations.