What happened to the Achille Lauro?
What happened to the Achille Lauro?
On October 7, four heavily armed Palestinian terrorists hijacked the Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. Some 320 crewmembers and 80 passengers were taken hostage.
Why was the Achille Lauro hijacked?
A 69-year-old Jewish American man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard. The hijacking sparked the “Sigonella Crisis”….
| Achille Lauro hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 1 |
| Perpetrators | Palestine Liberation Front |
| Motive | Publicity of Palestinian issues and release of Palestinian prisoners |
Who hijacked Achille Lauro?
On October 7, 1985, four men, including mastermind Muhammad Zaidan, aka Mohammed Abul al-Abbas, from the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian MS Achille Lauro liner off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel.
Has the Achille Lauro been found?
Achille Lauro sank two days later on 2 December 1994 and the wreck has not been located.
How Deep is the Achille Lauro wreck?
5000
The history of Achille Lauro is one sequence of disasters and misfortunes….
| general | |
|---|---|
| prev. owners: | [2] Rotterdamsche Lloyd (Koninklijke, KRL, Ruys Willem & Co.), Rotterdam MV Willem Ruys period 1959 ~ 1965 IMO/Off. no.: 5390008 |
| passengers: | 900 |
| about the wreck | |
| depth (m.): | 5000 max. / — min. (m) |
How many cruise ships have been attacked by pirates?
six
Only six of the 230 recorded attacks were against cruise ships. None have resulted in capture. A well-known incident occurred in 2005 when the Seabourn Spirit was fired at in a hijack attempt.
Do cruise ships carry guns in case of pirates?
But cruise ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean or NCL, flying the flags of the Bahamas or Panama, have no weapons at sea.
Are ships armed against pirates?
Merchant ships now plying in high piracy affected areas such as Gulf of Aden (GOA) carry Armed Guards along with a series of non-lethal weaponry to thwart any kind of piracy attempt.
Do cruise ships have police?
Unlike airplanes with Federal Marshals, cruise ships have no police authorities aboard. The few security guards on the ships are loyal to their employer who pays their salary – not to the passenger. When a crime occurs, the cruise lines first notify their risk managements departments and their defense lawyers.
Why didnt Captain Phillips have a gun?
They didn’t have a safe room on the ship – the crew claimed Captain Phillips repeatedly told them they didn’t need one. The crew weren’t allowed to have weapons on board (a common safety regulation among merchant vessels worldwide), and the ship lacked any defensive technology or hardware to protect them from pirates.
