A major transportation hub in Vancouver harbour was shut down for much of rush hour Thursday after a suspicious package was found just a day before the Olympics open.

The package was found near the terminal for the SeaBus, a commuter ferry, and was detonated by police. It turned out to be a fishing rod.

"Imagine a cylindrical tube in which you pack something," said RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin.

"Within that tube there are end caps that have some tape on them. So the combination of the tape and the tube made for an object that looked very much out of the ordinary and necessitated the quick response we had."

McLaughlin said a security officer at the terminal spotted the item, prompting police to treat it "with the utmost seriousness," said RCMP Cpl. Marlene Morton.

The terminal, an adjacent bus loop and Lonsdale Quay, a popular market and shopping area, was evacuated. The Seabus ferry links the North Shore to downtown Vancouver.

Commuters were diverted to buses for the long route over Burrard Inlet via bridge while the RCMP brought in explosives disposal experts.

McLaughlin said police later found the man who owned the rod and concluded there was "no criminal intent here whatsoever, no intent to cause this sort of disruption. It was simply a case of bad memory."

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