Sea Party Disrupted By Bomb Threat
The Age
Thursday January 2, 1997
Passengers on the Spirit of Tasmania had their New Year's Eve celebrations disturbed when they were ordered to their rooms at 11.30pm after a bomb threat.
An anonymous person rang the Burnie Advocate about 10pm and said an explosive device had been planted on the ship and would go off at midnight.
Police and the crew were notified of the threat immediately and responded with emergency procedures.
The ship's master, Captain John Hadley, said the vessel was searched, but nothing was found.
"Passengers were kept informed and were very understanding, especially considering it was New Year's Eve," Captain Hadley said.
He said the ship was not delayed by the hoax.
A Sydney passenger, Mr Bill Tuck, said he and his family were awoken about 10.30pm and told to vacate their rooms so a search could take place.
"We weren't exactly sure what was going on but everyone just went upstairs and waited until the search had been carried out," Mr Tuck said.
"Then at about 11.30pm the captain announced that the bars would close immediately and asked all passengers to return to their cabins," he said.
Mr Tuck said passengers were not allowed out of their cabins until about 12.15am.
"Drinks were on the house for about half an hour after that," Mr Tuck said.
"There was no panic and everything was conducted in a very orderly and thorough manner. The crew seemed to handle the situation very professionally," he said.
It is believed a re-enactment of the midnight New Year countdown was staged at 3.30am so passengers did not miss out entirely on the celebrations.
A spokesman for Tasmanian police declined to comment, saying he did not want to encourage copy-cat hoax callers.
He said emergency services in Tasmania and Victoria had been put on standby but no police were transferred to the ship.
© 1997 The Age
