Cruise ship Fantasia with 4000 passengers, mostly US citizens, and a crew of several hundred on board traveling from Haifa to Heraklion made an unscheduled stop at the port of Souda at 5:50 am. Fantasia was sailing east of Crete when, according to a Vima newspaper report, it was called for an additional security check at the military base at the port of Souda, [which lies to the west of Heraklion].
Other reports mention unauthorised persons getting on board in “one of the previous ports of call” before arriving at Souda: a choice of Genova, Rome (Civitavecchia), Katakolo, Pireaus and Rhodes and Haifa
Initially, the Greek coast guard issued a statement saying that the management of the ship requested a change of port without giving a reason.
Speculation that one of the passengers was taken ill or died, was neither confirmed or denied, which confused the situation further.
The company’s agent Nikos Tsangarakis later said that the change in the ships itinerary was planned and that the decision to divert the cruise ship was taken two days before, because of the adverse weather conditions expected at Heraklion.
The ship’s managing agents also stressed that rumours of “security issues [relating to terrorism] are totally unfounded.”
Fantasia departed from Souda at 15:00 pm on Saturday, as scheduled, heading towards Italy and it is expected to dock at the port of Civitavecchia on Monday.
11 Night Mediterranean Cruise: Rome (Civitavecchia) Genoa, Katakolon (Olympia), Athens (Piraeus), Rhodes, Haifa, Crete (Heraklion), Rome (Civitavecchia)
