[Capt. Tom]

One of the primary concerns I've had since 9/11 was Al Queda hitting an ocean liner.

Might be harder to do today, than in 1985. But the cruise ships today have hundreds in the crew from all part of the world.

Four heavily armed Palestinian terrorists in October hijack the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, carrying more than 400 passengers and crew, off Egypt. The hijackers demand that Israel free 50 Palestinian prisoners. The terrorists kill a disabled American tourist, 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, and throw his body overboard with his wheelchair. After a two-day drama, the hijackers surrender in exchange for a pledge of safe passage.

[Viking2002]

I doubt that Al Queda is looking at an Achille Lauro scenario; more like a U.S.S. Cole type of attack. Get a ship loaded with explosives close enough to the hull, and blow an immense hole in it - big enough that the watertight doors won't be enough to prevent a quick trip to the bottom. Hey, if we can sit here and think this stuff up off-the-cuff, you can be sure that Mohammed's Heathens have done extensive research into the possibility.