Honolulu port reopened, no explosives found

Sniffer dogs had zeroed in on packages on a pallet

HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) -- The United States Coast Guard closed the Port of Honolulu for about three hours Wednesday after two bomb-sniffing dogs alerted officials to a pallet of suspicious packages.

The port was reopened at 11:30 a.m. (4:30 p.m. EST) after no explosives were found, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Smith.

The pallet, one of 30 waiting to be loaded on a ship, contained loosely packaged FedEx boxes from a shipment originating in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Coast Guard said.

It was to be loaded onto an incoming cruise ship Wednesday, it said.

As a precaution, the Coast Guard closed the port to all incoming and outgoing marine traffic until the pallet could be inspected further.

Smith said the pallet was determined not to contain anything explosive, but officials were still trying to figure out what alerted the dogs.

"This is one of those examples again of the Coast Guard's heightened security since September 11th," she said.