(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On 7 October 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro when it was in the Mediterranean Sea en route from Alexandria, Egypt to Port Said. The Achille Lauro left Genoa, Italy, on October 3 for a 12-day cruise of the Mediterranean Sea. Aboard were 748 passengers and several…
(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) It is man’s desire to travel and explore the wide world that led him to build ships. Large, opulent cruise ships, the ubiquitous ferry, mail ships, and even military ships exude a dignity and grace as they set sail across the seas and oceans. Sometimes, however, these majestic vessels become fraught by the worst…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The Tōya Maru was a Japanese train ferry constructed by the Japanese National Railways which sank during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshūon September 26, 1954. The Japanese National Railways announced in September 1955 that 1,153 people aboard were killed in the accident. However, the exact number of fatalities remains…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The sinking of the ferry vessel MS Estonia in the Baltic Sea is an accident that will haunt the maritime domain for long years and even beyond. Caused by myriad reasons, this Baltic Sea accident was an event so unprecedented that the extent of the damages caused, both to life and to property, is…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The Senegalese government-owned ferry capsized off the coast of The Gambia on September 26, 2002, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,863 people. The sinking of the ferry Le Joola is thought to be the second-worst non-military maritime disaster in number of lives lost, after the Doña Paz. The ferry was reportedly loaded to overcapacity,…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The passenger/cargo ship SS Morro Castle caught fire and burned on 8 September 1934, while on a voyage from Havana, Cuba to New York. The origin of the fire was never conclusively determined. The master had died in his sleep the previous night of an apparent heart attack. The fire was detected in the First Class Writing…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The passenger paddle steamer Princess Alice was built in 1865. It operated primarily as an excursion steamer on the River Thames, carrying sightseers from London to Gravesend and back. On 3 September 1878, it departed in the morning for a “Moonlight Trip”, transiting to Gravesend so that passengers could spend several pleasant hours touring Rosherville Gardens and…
