She Was on Another Cruise in Same Area : Did Hijackers Want Maureen Reagan?

President Reagan’s daughter, Maureen Reagan, was aboard a Royal Viking cruise ship in the Mediterranean about the time an Italian liner was seized by Palestinian terrorists, but her spokeswoman said today that the cruise is over and that she is safe in an undisclosed location.

Although a report published by an Israeli newspaper suggested that she may have been the intended target of Palestinian hijackers who seized an Italian cruise ship in the eastern Mediterranean, the spokeswoman said she had no information to substantiate that.

“She is safe, and there is no problem,” said Susanne Rich, Maureen Reagan’s aide at the Republican National Committee, where the President’s elder daughter specializes in women’s issues.

But Rich refused to disclose the whereabouts of the 44-year-old Maureen, saying only that “she is on a private trip.” She refused to say if the President’s daughter had left the ship.

Maureen Reagan and her husband, Dennis Revell, were traveling in Europe last week, and she was the featured lecturer aboard a Royal Viking cruise for passengers interested in hearing her speak about women’s issues and her recent role as head of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. women’s conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Jerusalem Post said today that the Palestinian guerrillas who hijacked the Italian liner may have intended to commandeer the Norwegian ship carrying the President’s daughter.

The English-language newspaper, quoting an unidentified maritime source, said the hijackers may have been scared off by tight security surrounding the Norwegian Royal Viking Sky and then decided instead to seize the Achille Lauro.

Maureen Reagan travels with U.S. Secret Service bodyguards.

Her ship docked in Alexandria, Egypt, on Friday and in Port Said on Saturday before arriving in Haifa, Israel, for a two-day stay Sunday morning. It sailed Monday night for Piraeus, Greece.

The Achille Lauro was hijacked Monday after it stopped in Alexandria en route to Port Said.