No explosive found on cruise ship Crown Iris at Syros, ship cleared to sail for Haifa

An anonymous warning in Syros

An anonymous complaint reached the bridge of the Crown Iris, a Panama-flagged cruise ship, in the port of Syros on Tuesday, 3 November, claiming that an explosive device had been placed on the underwater part of its hull. For safety reasons, authorities decided to have the passengers leave the ship while the claim was checked. According to reports, the caller also contacted the captain directly by VHF radio, and the captain informed the Syros port authority straight away. The ship was carrying 940 passengers and 597 crew members, 1,537 people in total. iefimerida described the vessel as an Israeli cruise ship that sails among the Greek islands, with its scheduled route to Haifa in Israel. The caller has not been identified in the reports.

Two rounds of checks

Coast guard officers first examined the ship with a specially trained detection dog and a private diver, and nothing suspicious was found. Because the complaint had not been ruled out, authorities ordered a second and more thorough check. A team from the Underwater Operations Unit (MYA) of the coast guard travelled to Syros from Piraeus to inspect the underwater part of the hull. The specialist inspection also found no explosive device, and the authorities reported that the result was negative. Until the checks were completed, reports said the existence of an explosive device had not been confirmed.

Passengers back aboard and the route ahead

With the inspection completed, the passengers were allowed to re-board the ship. The authorities indicated that the vessel would sail on toward Haifa. The Crown Iris had left Piraeus on Sunday, 1 November, called at Nafplio on Monday, 2 November, and reached Syros on Tuesday, 3 November, where the voyage was interrupted because of the complaint. The reports give the same total for the people aboard, 940 passengers and 597 crew, which makes 1,537 in all.

Passengers940

Crew597

Passengers

940 people

Crew

597 people

Data from the article text

Status at the time of reporting

Early reports described the search as still in progress and said that no explosive device had been confirmed. Later reports stated that the check had found nothing, that the passengers were back on board and that the ship was preparing to continue its voyage. The latest reports therefore describe the alarm as over, although they do not give the name or motive of the person who made the complaint. In the reports available, the ship's destination remains Haifa.