cruise liner's stack after soot smothered his vessel and restaurant diners.

A cloud of black smoke drifted across Dockyard after the Meridian started her boilers and engines, leaving some boats covered in soot.

It also affected diners and drinkers at the Pirate's Landing where people's food had to be replaced and hours spent cleaning the restaurant.

The owner, who is considering claiming compensation, called the Police who are investigating the incident, which happened last Friday lunchtime.

Yesterday, Mr. Tucker, said: "Every time they crank up the boilers it puts out soot. If the wind is blowing in the right direction it covers everything.'' Mr. Tucker who has recently finished a $5,000 refurbishment of his boat, where he lives with his wife, Gillian, said a $3 million fishing vessel, the Fishing Daze , was also covered in soot.

"I had shampooed the carpets, but I hadn't replaced them and all the soot just landed on the fibre-glass inside the boat. I want them to clean the boilers out, or use a different fuel, something to stop this.

"It has happened before. Once I had trouble breathing and I was too late stopping the smoke getting inside the boat. The soot was everywhere,'' he said.

Last night the owner of Pilot's Landing, Mr. Fosco Nannini said a couple of hours before the ship left on Friday the smoke was blown towards the restaurant by a southerly wind.

"We had a lot of problems with the drink and food, we had to clean everything because the smoke was greasy. It took heavy detergent to clean it up,'' he added.

Mr. Nannini called the Police who came to take photographs and statements and he also called the Bermuda agents for the Meridian , Meyer Agencies.

Last night Meyer's president, Mr. Henry Hayward, said there was little that could be done to stop the soot.

"Everything from a car to a ship has an exhaust,'' he said.

"The problem is that the vessel is lying there for two or three days and they shut things down as much as possible to limit the amount of smoke that comes out.

"But before sailing they have to get the boilers back and that creates a problem.'' Mr. Hayward said he would be speaking to the captain of the ship to see if anything could be done to help solve the problem.

"It is not normally as bad as it was on Friday, something obviously must have backfired and normally the prevailing wind blows the smoke out to sea, but I will discuss this with the captain.''