4 Cruise Ships Told Not to Dock in Alanya....

[merlin]

Israel ordered four of its cruise ships carrying thousands of tourists not to dock at the Turkish port of Alanya after receiving warnings of a possible terrorist attack, officials said Friday.

Israeli Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit gave the order to the cruise vessels not to dock at the Turkish port. Army Radio said the ships were carrying 3,500 Israeli tourists.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev confirmed the ships were rerouted, saying, "There was a warning."

However, he declined to say where they were sent or provide details about the nature of the warning.

A spokesman for Turkey's Interior Ministry had no information about ships being diverted or any threats in Alanya.

Merv!

 

[merlin]

Update....

A security source in Cyprus said two of the vessels, the Iris and Jasmine, operated by Haifa-based Manos Cruises, were being diverted to the Cypriot port of Limassol "because they are fearing a terrorist attack on Alanya."

The two ships, each with a capacity of 600-700 passengers, were due to arrive in Limassol later on Friday and extra police had been called in, a source at the port said.

The other two ships involved were the Dream Princess, a 23,000-ton ocean liner with a capacity of 1,257 passengers, and the Magic 1.

"There was a specific threat and because of warnings from Israeli and Turkish security services, the minister took the decision to order the ships not to dock in Alanya and to disperse to other ports," Israeli Transportation Ministry spokeswoman Ora Salomon said.



Merv!

Sideline: Ironically on a day which would normally see some large ship traffic Kusadasi Port is also empty.