Government would scrutinise any cruise ship which wanted to visit the Island in the same fashion -- no matter whether the passengers were heterosexual or homosexual.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell told The Royal Gazette that the Department of Tourism and Marine and Ports Services had review processes they used for all cruise vessels which wanted to make occasional visits.

The news comes on the heels of a decision by one of Bermuda's tourism competitors to ban a visit by a cruise ship chartered by gay vacationers.

The Cayman Islands' move has sparked a war of words between the tourist-dependent British territory's government and Human Rights Campaign, a Washington D.C.-based, pro-gay and lesbian organisation.

When asked what course of action Bermuda would take if a similar charter wished to visit the Island, Mr. Dodwell replied: "We have no comment specifically in relationship to gay cruises.

"We have criteria that have to be met and a review process which is involved in selecting every occasional caller that visits.'' The Cayman Islands' Minister of Tourism, Commerce & Transport, Thomas Jefferson, told Norwegian Cruise Line last month that his government had decided not to allow the Leeward to make a scheduled stop on Grand Cayman on February 1, 1998, the Associated Press reported.

"Careful research and prior experience has led us to conclude that we cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of appropriate behaviour expected of visitors to the Cayman Islands, so we regrettably cannot offer our hospitality,'' he said.

The 910-passenger Leeward was chartered by Atlantis Events Inc., a gay tour operator, for a seven-day Caribbean cruise for 900 men and a few women with stops in the Caymans, Mexico and the Bahamas.

The ship was set to stop in for a day at Grand Cayman to allow passengers the chance to shop and scuba dive.

A Cayman Islands' Department of Tourism spokesperson told AP that a gay cruise ship called on Grand Cayman 10 years ago and residents were shocked to see men walking around the island holding hands and kissing.

Church groups vowed to never again allow a gay cruise ship to stop in the Cayman Islands.

Britain was surprised at the decision but ruled that it was a matter for the local government which handles domestic policy.

HRC has asked the Caymans to reconsider what it called a "discriminatory act'' and warned that a tourism boycott remained a possibility.

TOURISM TOU GOVERNMENT GVT