A suspicious incident took place today in Alikarnassos (Bodrum), Turkey when local port authorities banned the departure of the Helios T/E vessel from the harbor where it was on a scheduled day trip.
The ship was running the scheduled Kalymnos-Kos-Alikarnassos route and back, and it was scheduled to depart from Alikarnassos at 4 in the afternoon.
According to kalymnos-news.gr, the Turkish port authorities detained the vessel. However, it is not known why this decision was taken, since the vessel has all the required certificates and complies with all the rules of international shipping regulations.
The boat has been on the route from Kalymnos to Turgut Reis and Alikarnassos for years, and there has never been a problem.
The shipowning company “LAFASI NE” ensured that the passengers will return with another boat to the port of Kos.
The most likely scenario, kalymnos-news.gr reports, is that the vessel was detained as a retaliation for the detention of the Turkish flag “SEFER KAPTAIN 1” in Kos. The ship was detained because an inspection carried out revealed serious shortcomings on security issues.
