About 50 Molokai residents protested the entry of a cruise ship into Kaunakakai Harbor from 5:30 to about 9:30 a.m. Saturday without incident.

The Coast Guard used a cutter to escort the American Safari Cruises 36-passenger ship, with a response boat and 27 Coast Guard personnel assisting, as well as a few manning small boats from the Marine Safety and Security Team from San Francisco, which was here for the recent presidential visit.

The FBI, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Maui County police and deputy sheriffs were also on hand.

Protesters stayed out of the water Saturday. On Nov. 26, protesters went into the water on surfboats and in small boats to block the ship from entering Kaunakakai Harbor, and the American Safari Cruises ship later turned around and left.

Molokai activist Walter Ritte said they had agreed to stop protesting if the ships stop coming for a period of time, but instead the government provided extra security for another ship visit, which upset people because they felt they were being invaded.

"We want tourism, but we don’t want tourism to come here and destroy us," Ritte said, adding that protesters want community input to be considered by the government before these types of tour operations are allowed to visit Molokai.

» Watch a video clip of the protesters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1GAMvKJROA