Cruise ship security teams searched all Bermuda-berthed vessels from end to end immediately following Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the United States in case bombs were stowed on board.

In addition, teams on board the Nordic Empress and Pacific Princess, which both originated in New York, included scuba divers who scoured the hulls of the ships in case explosive devices had been attached to them.

Shipping companies said the bomb searches failed to turn up anything suspicious and explained they were just one part of contingency plans that are routinely put into action during high-risk situations.

Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith said all planes currently stranded on the tarmac at the airport would be searched for bombs before leaving.

A spokesman for Meyer Agencies, which deals with the Zenith, the Horizon and the Norwegian Majesty, said passengers were crying in hallways after news of Tuesday's attacks. The cruise line has provided them with free phone calls and e-mail access so they can contact loved ones. Meanwhile, container ship traffic was not expected to be affected at all.

The Nordic Empress is set to travel back to Philadelphia, instead of its originating point of New York at the earlier time of dawn today. In addition, the cruise ship Crystal Harmony, which will arrive from Tortola today and is slated to leave on Sunday, will return to Baltimore rather than New York as was originally planned.

A John S. Darrell spokesman said: "New York is just not quite ready to handle all the cruise ships that were meant to go back there. I understand that the office of New York Port Authority was in the World Trade Center."

The Zenith left early yesterday morning from its Hamilton berth rather than wait for its normal departure time in the afternoon. The Horizon left slightly early, yesterday afternoon, while the Norwegian Majesty is set to depart this afternoon, as normal. The two Celebrity Cruise Line ships will be re-routed to Philadelphia instead of New York Harbour.

The Pacific Princess will go an hour early at 11 a.m. today.

A spokesman for Container Ship Management, which handles the container ship Oleander, said she left the Island on Tuesday afternoon and was set to dock in New Jersey by 1 p.m. yesterday.

They noted that there was some delay because of security precautions, however there were no severe disruptions in the Island's goods reaching here.

The Bermuda Islander, also out of New Jersey, had no serious disruptions.