Washington - Two men whose behavior on a ferry last July prompted the F.B.I. to release their photographs in an effort to determine who they were have been identified, and "it appears that they were in the area for legitimate reasons," the bureau said.

The men were photographed by a ferry worker after they entered restricted areas and asked detailed questions about the boat's structure, the bureau said.

Robbie Burroughs, an F.B.I. spokeswoman, said the men were software consultants from Europe who were in Seattle for a conference. After learning of the search for them, they eventually went to a United States embassy and showed proof of their identity and their reason for traveling to Seattle.

The F.B.I. has not released their names or nationalities. The men had dark hair and olive skin, and the release of the photographs prompted accusations that the F.B.I. was profiling passengers.