Remembrance of the Achille Lauro Hijacking
On 7 October 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro as it was in the Mediterranean Sea en route from Alexandria, Egypt to Port Said. After the Israeli Government refused their demand for release of 50 imprisoned Palestinians, they killed disabled American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and threw him and his wheelchair overboard. The terrorists surrendered to Egyptian officials and boarded a flight to Tunisia. The flight was intercepted by U.S. Navy fighter aircraft and was forced to land in Italy. The four hijackers were arrested by the Italian Government but their alleged leader, Abu Abbas, was allowed to depart. This incident awakened governments around the world and the IMO to the security threats faced by passenger vessels.
Achille Lauro Hijacking Anniversary
On October 7, 1985, four terrorists associated with the Palestine Liberation Front took control of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt. The terrorists, headed by Abu Abbas, demanded that Israel release 50 detained Palestinians. After the Israelis refused, the terrorists shot American passenger Leon Klinghoffer, who was disabled and wheelchair-bound, and then threw him and his wheelchair into the water. Egypt eventually agreed to give the terrorists safe conduct to Tunisia. US Navy fighter jets intercepted the flight and forced it to land in Italy. Nine years later (November 30, 1994) the ship was destroyed and then sank following a fire off the coast of Somalia.
