ship workers are awaiting trial in New York City on charges involving smuggling drugs into Bermuda. For years it has been clear that cruise liners were a major means of shipping drugs into Bermuda. Perhaps now the cruise lines will tell us why it has taken a huge drugs bust to get them to review their security and their crew screening.

A spokesman for Celebrity Cruise Lines, operators of the Zenith and the Horizon , has said that the line has done everything it can to cooperate with Operation Bermuda Triangle both in Bermuda and in the United States. "We are anxious to ensure this kind of trade does not take place on our ships.'' A spokeswoman for Norwegian Cruise Lines, operators of the Norwegian Crown and the Norwegian Majesty , which were also involved in Operation Bermuda Triangle, has said, "We would like to point out we have been cooperating fully with all the authorities involved in this operation, both in the US and Bermuda.'' She said senior officials would look again at security policies.

All of that is fine as far as it goes. But the real question is why the cruise lines have not moved earlier against drug smuggling crew members. The cruise lines have received warning after warning that their ships were being used for drug importation. They know that their ships have been under regular surveillance and they know that Bermuda is tough on drugs.

Cruise ships, especially when they are not in port, are a very closed and controlled environment. It should be possible for cruise lines to carry out their own warnings to crew followed by searches. In other words, it should be possible for cruise lines to assume responsibility for preventing drug smuggling on their ships rather than waiting for crew members to face search and seizure when they go ashore. There is plenty of room aboard ships for such things as sniffer dogs and metal detectors.

We accept that the cruise lines have cooperated fully with Operation Bermuda Triangle but we believe that the operation should not have been necessary if they had been doing a good security job on their ships.

The cruise lines and their ships cannot operate in isolation from the ports they service. The shipping lines and the on-board management of their ships have to accept responsibility for transporting drugs just as they have to accept responsibility for oil spills in the harbours.

It may be time to make the cruise lines responsible for drugs coming into Bermuda on their ships. The burden should be on the cruise line and Captain of the ship, as the cruise line's senior person on the ship, to prevent drug smuggling by members of the crew. If smuggling takes place, then the cruise line has a serious problem.