Queen Mary 2 arrives in Portugal under tight security after bomb threat

Friday, January 16, 2004

LISBON, Portugal: The world's largest ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2, made its first stop Thursday on its maiden transatlantic voyage to Fort Lauderdale at the Portuguese island of Madeira under tight security following anonymous bomb threats.

The ship was escorted by two police boats as it arrived on schedule in the port of Funchal, capital of the Atlantic island located off the coast of Morocco, and was docked away from the other ships.

On Wednesday evening, the London headquarters of the British shipping company Cunard, which owns the ship, received three anonymous phone calls in which the caller said there were bombs on board the ocean liner, said Luis Aguiar, a representative of the company's affiliate in Portugal.

"This is something that is customary in ships and voyages of this notoriety," he told cable news channel SIC-Noticias.

"Everything is tranquil and normal. We are taking the usual precautions in a case like this."

Two divers early Thursday inspected the port waters before the ship's arrival in Funchal and gave the all clear.

Dozens of security agents could be seen guarding the area near the ship which was declared off-limits to the public and to non-authorized vehicles.

The ship was due to leave Funchal later Thursday. Its next stop is Spain's Canary Islands.

During the months of February, March, May, June, November and December 2004, the QM2 has a variety of sailings focusing on the Caribbean. 

QM2's first season of southerly cruising will take her to the Caribbean's Virgin Islands, the Windward and Leeward Islands in the Lower Antilles, Panama's Caribbean coast, the Netherlands Antilles and, on two back-to-back voyages, to South America to celebrate Carnival in Rio.  

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