Bermuda over Christmas.

The New Orleans-registered Green Point arrived in Hamilton just after 9 a.m.

on Christmas Eve and was due to set sail for the Bahamas just over an hour later.

But the giant ship was ordered to delay its onward voyage until Boxing Day so Police could interview the two 19-year-olds who had tucked themselves in a tiny hideaway.

The two young men -- one from Haiti and one from the Dominican Republic -- had hidden deep inside the ship, behind the rudder.

Stowaways stall ship's departure Marine Police were alerted to the would-be defectors as the ship approached the Number Seven dock on Front Street.

Then a Police boat ferried the two stowaways ashore, where they were put in a Police van and driven to Hamilton Police station for questioning.

A Police spokesman said: "A couple of longshoremen pointed to some guys' heads near the rudder of the boat and Marine Police moved in.

"The Marine Section vessel went alongside the boat because of problems in the past.'' The ship's last two ports had been Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

"They were believed to have boarded the ships at those ports and concealed themselves in the rudder hatch,'' added the Police spokesman.

The teenagers, who did not speak English, were only able to give Police statements after being quizzed by Spanish-speaking officers.

Police originally investigated reports that there were more stowaways on board, with separate claims there were between five and eight intruders on the ship.

But a search of the ship -- which delayed the unloading of 178 cars -- proved fruitless.

And the master of the ship was left with the headache of returning the two teenagers to their home towns on the Green Point's return journey.

Donald MacPherson, of shipping agents John S. Darrell, said: "It's unfortunate but the ship's crew had to make an unscheduled stay in Bermuda on Christmas Day.

"The cars could not be unloaded while the search was taking place and it all meant the ship couldn't be turned around until Saturday morning.

"This is always a difficult process for the Police to go through. When this happens, the guys on board usually don't speak any English and don't have any identification.

"It's a question of finding an interpreter. And even then, it's anybody's real guess as to who these kids are and just why they got on board.''