A terminal at major Californian fruit port Port Hueneme was temporarily brought to a standstill after an anti-Bush discovery on a banana shipment from Guatemala.
A bomb threat against US president George W Bush and his "Jewish gang" was discovered by a dock worker and part of the busy port was shut down until investigators determined that there were no explosives on board.
Port Hueneme is around 100 kilometres north of Los Angeles. It is the only commercial deep water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is also the only military deep water port between San Diego and Puget Sound in Washington state.
The ship had Panamanian registry but had last docked in Guatemala. An investigation is taking place.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said the threat, which was written on a metal pillar in the hold of the ship, the Mild Lotus, read: "nitro + glycerin, a gift for gw bush and his jewish gang."
