Merchant Marine Minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos said the cruise ship City of Poros, carrying 400 passengers and 71 crew members aboard, was stormed by Palestinian gunmen, who killed nine tourists. Two more later died, for a total number of 11 dead.
The passenger ship was returning from a daily island cruise in the Aegean Sea.
Three gunmen had boarded City Of Poros along with other passengers at Aegina. They waiting on the ship until it was several miles from shore and then attacked arouind 8:30pm that evening.
The terrorists had concealed automatic weapons and hand grenades when they opened fire on passengers and crew. Trying to flee the attack, some passengers jumped overboard and were caught in the ship's propellors.
City Of Poros sent out a distress call and other ships in the area came to her rescue. In all 98 were injured during the seize.
Earlier on the day of the attack, the pier that the City of Poros usually berthed at in Piraeus was rocked by the detonation of a large car bomb. The bomb is thought to have detonated prematurely, killing two people inside.
With that attacked failed, a second plan was hatched to attack the ship instead from within.
Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO) claimed responsibility for the attack at the terminal as well as the attack on City Of Poros.
A year later, two ANO members were arrested and convicted of involvement in the attack, and further charges were later brought against a Lebanese man arrested in Germany, but the men who planned this operation mostly escaped official justice.
City Of Poros Cruise Ship
Attacked By Terrorists Over Injured Or Dead
July 12, 1988
