Scare at Port of Miami is Second False Alarm in 2 Days
By Ihosvani Rodriguez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Jan. 9–MIAMI — A box of sprinkler parts destined for the hull of a luxury cruise ship set off a second consecutive day of terrorism jitters at the Port of Miami.
And much like the first day’s scare, Monday’s ended as a false alarm and with relief on the faces of port authorities.
“If anything, it shows just how seriously we take these incidents,” said Coast Guard Capt. James Maes, who is in charge of security at the Port of Miami.
Monday’s incident climaxed about 3:30 p.m. with the Miami-Dade Police Department’s bomb squad blowing up a 2-by-3-foot wooden box that had registered positive readings for explosives on one highly sensitive sensor. When police inspected what was left of the box, they found pulverized sprinkler parts.
Zachary Mann, of the U.S. Custom and Border Protection, acknowledged that special events such as the upcoming Feb. 4 Super Bowl in Miami Gardens tend to generate more suspicions and alarms.
“Whether there is a special event coming up or not, we still follow our standard protocol and handle everything as a true potential threat,” he said.
On Monday, the alarm went off as passengers and crew members of the Royal Caribbean International’s Majesty of the Seas boarded the cruise liner at Terminal H about 2:30 p.m.
Nobody was evacuated from the ship during the hourlong ordeal, but nobody else was allowed on board. The ship sailed away from port on schedule.
Cruise officials did not say how many people were on the ship. In a statement, a Royal Caribbean spokesman said the company screens all luggage, carry-ons, provisions and everyone coming on the ship, using X-ray machines, metal detectors and dogs.
A large crowd of about 300 people, mostly crew, clutched their belongings and watched the events unfold from a nearby parking garage.
“Things are getting scary here,” said Francois Cadelay, who works in the ship’s kitchen.
Authorities said an electronic sensor operated by cruise line security picked up explosives. At the height of the scare, police spokesman Bobby Williams said the box contained a substance that “closely resembles” the military-grade explosive, C4.
But police bomb-sniffing dogs did not react at all, Mann said.
Authorities decided to blow up the box anyway, using a robot.
“We wanted to error in the side of caution,” Mann explained.
Upon close inspection, police found bits of sprinklers that had been intended for renovations on the Majesty.
The incident came one day after authorities said a miscommunication among three Middle Eastern men and port security guards prompted an hourslong terrorism panic.
Officials initially said the three men were caught trying to slip past a security checkpoint in a cargo truck after the driver said he was alone. Federal investigators and a bomb squad were called in and authorities eventually determined the freight was harmless.
Still, driver Amar Al Hadad, 28, was charged with resisting an officer without violence, and his passengers were charged with trespassing. Computer records show Miami-Dade County Judge Antonio Arzola dropped all charges against the men Monday.
Maes said after the two days of false alarms, the multiagency task force that secures the port will examine how the responses were handled.
“It’s actually a positive thing. We keep learning each time,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to show up to an emergency command post and know everyone’s first name.”
Staff Writer Marlene Naanes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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