Horizon and put up at the Princess Hotel following an outbreak of a mystery illness.

And the ship's operators may have breached international regulations which require vessels to file a report with health authorities when significant numbers of passengers become ill, Government Chief Medical officer Dr. John Cann said yesterday.

On Monday and Tuesday several families -- many with sick children -- were taken off the Horizon and put up at the Hamilton Princess.

International regulations require such events to be reported to local health authorities.

Neither Dr. Cann nor Chief Environmental Health officer Ms Estlyn Harvey, who is the Government officer responsible for handling such cases, had been contacted.

In fact both officials said they only learned of the incident when they were contacted by The Royal Gazette last night.

"All of the cruise ships that come here out of the United States have to pass very rigid standards from the American authorities,'' Dr. Cann said. "We rely on those standards to be our guide. Any significant illness on board a ship has to be reported to a public health authority and we would liaise with the American authorities if we were concerned that there was a problem.

"At this point I am not aware of any reports to my department. I am not even aware of what you are talking about.'' When contacted, the Wor. Henry Hayward, president for Meyer Agencies the local agents for the Horizon , was unable to comment because he had returned to the Island late last evening.

Shipping agent Mr. Joe Simas meanwhile, declined to answer any questions from The Royal Gazette when he was contacted at home.

Meantime, some passengers said they were frustrated because they had no idea what the problem was.

And they complained that the ship's staff were deliberately keeping them in the dark.

"I came to visit this beautiful island and have a good time on board the MV Horizon ,'' passenger Mr. Stephen Reiss said.

"Since we left New York on Saturday my daughter has been having headaches and getting sick. It turned out that the ship has some type of fuel problem that has affected the exhausts.

"The problem is in the boat and they have had to put up more than 50 families here at the Princess while they fix it.'' Mr. Reiss, a pharmacist who lives in Long Island, came on the cruise with his wife and two daughters.

His youngest daughter, aged six, went to a bathroom located at the rear of the ship during dinner on Sunday night.

After the meal he said she came back smelling of diesel fuel and her eyes were red and she complained of headaches.

"I thought it was just sea sickness because I have never been on a boat before, but there was also a noxious smell that reeked in the hallways too.'' Dr. Stuart Hisler, an internist from Long Island, said his daughter Rachel was also sick.

"They need to measure the air quality and do a proper scientific analysis,'' he said.

Last year the Horizon was hit by an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease resulting in the evacuation of more than 1,000 passengers and the cancellation of cruises.

week.