No Security Steps by Achille Lauro, 2 Ex-Hostages Say
Two former American hostages aboard the Achille Lauro said Tuesday that they saw no security precautions aboard the Italian cruise ship before it was hijacked Oct. 7 by four Palestinian terrorists.
“Nobody looked at one bag, not one . . . ,” Seymour Meskin of Union, N.J., told a subcommittee hearing of the House Merchant Marines and Fisheries Committee.
His wife, Viola Meskin, added that baggage was put onto the ship unchecked, and visitors were permitted to mingle freely with ship passengers both before the cruise liner left Genoa and later at other ports of call.
The hearing was called to consider the need for legislation to beef up security on maritime vessels. The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.), suggested that screening devices like those used at airports be implemented at ports to protect cruise ship passengers as well as cargo vessels.
The United States, he said, has an obligation to “make certain Americans are not left naked when they travel on any form of carrier.”
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