MIAMI – An antique military compass triggered a security alarm that forced the evacuation of a PortMiami terminal Wednesday morning.
The Miami-Dade Police Department bomb unit was called to Terminal B after a disembarking cruise ship passenger caused an alert from security instruments, Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said.
While passengers of the Norwegian Pearl remained on the ship, the terminal was evacuated while police and hazardous materials crew investigated.
"I exited the ship and had no problems getting off and I'm sitting across waiting for my friends and my sister to get off the boat, (but) they never came out," a passenger told Local 10's Tamika Bickham.
After it was determined that the compass caused the alert, the area was deemed safe and the terminal was reopened.
The end result was an inconvenience for some cruise ship passengers who had no choice but to wait until it was all over.
"Our ride is on the boat," another passenger said. "They're the ones driving the bus."