Freak high winds pulled a bollard from a St. George's dock and sent cruise ship The Norwegian Majesty spinning loose from its mooring yesterday.

One port worker suffered cuts to his hands as he struggled to free the still-intact stern ropes after the bow broke free and the ship spun at right angles to the Ordnance Island mooring, smashing the gang plank into the boat's side.

Bermuda's Harbour Master Michael Dolding said: "Passengers were getting on and off at the time. We were lucky no one was hurt."

Crews helped tie down cruise ships elsewhere as they were lashed by high winds and rain.

The Norwegian Majesty's crew threw out the anchor and powered up the engines to complete a turn which had reversed the direction the ship was facing so it was facing west after the crisis which hit just before 1 p.m. yesterday.

Marine and Ports Director Ron Ross said: "She had the rope with the bollard attached to it as she broke off from the dock."

"It was the wind direction which did it. It's not something we have seen before. The boat would have swung around in minutes."

Mr. Dolding said he could not recall bollards ever being pulled out of the dock in St. George's although Hurricane Emily in 1987 had done that in Hamilton.

Cable ship The Endeavour had to be shifted from the more secure Penno's wharf to allow the Majesty a safer berth in deeper water there, after being towed by two tugs sent from Dockyard and Hamilton.

Mr. Dolding said: "We were lucky we had that dock available - usually the Zenith would be on that dock at that time. But it stayed in Hamilton before leaving which was very fortunate.

"It's a high ship and the wind came from the north-east with a lot of force. The gangway was left dangling off the boat. One crew member got minor abrasions as they cut some of the lines."

Passengers on the Norwegian Majesty said last night of their surprise when the hefty ropes snapped and sent the ship spinning.

Sonia McKenzie of Boston, Massachusetts, said: "We heard a lot of grinding and noise and it felt like something was wrong with the ship. The ship help told us they were doing some tests with the ropes."

Mike Parent of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was standing on the dock when the ropes snapped. "Of course we were worried. I spoke to some locals and they said nothing like this had happened before. I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime."

Fellow passenger Charlotte Raduluff from Buffalo, New York, who also watched from the dock, said: "I couldn't believe ropes that big could just snap."

Jene Keen, a musician onboard the ship, was in his cabin when he noticed the ship was swinging round.

He said: "I could see the lines come loose and I ran to the showroom to secure the instruments. I noticed we were sideways to the land and I thought something was wrong.

"All the crew was scrambling about and I thought we were heading for the land and you could see all these people watching as the ship was approaching. But the crew handled it very well and made announcements every 15 minutes."

"Another eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said: "There was a `pow!, pow!' noise like a gun going off and the ropes snapped. The boat was swinging around and some of the women on the dock who were waiting to get on were screaming."

The ship is due to leave today, but Mr. Dolding said a repeat of yesterday's wind conditions would rule out a move through the narrow channel of Town Cut., St. George's' only access to the open water for large ships.

He said he expected the Pacific Princess to leave on schedule to Baltimore from Hamilton.