On Tuesday, 3 November, in the afternoon, the Crown Iris cruise ship was evacuated at the Greek port of Syros after a report of an alleged explosive device on its hull. There were 1,537 people on board; according to media reports, nothing dangerous was found.
As Al Jazeera reports, citing the Greek coast guard, the Panama-flagged vessel was evacuated at anchorage off the island of Syros after a bomb warning. The ship was due to sail to Haifa, Israel. According to the portal Keep Talking Greece, an unknown person allegedly contacted the captain by VHF radio and said that a device had been placed on the hull below the waterline. The captain notified the coast guard.
Events at the Port of Syros
There were 940 passengers and 597 crew members on board, 1,537 people in total, according to Keep Talking Greece and JFeed, citing Greek media, among others. The vessel is operated by the Israeli company Mano Maritime. According to Greek City Times, services searched the ship with a sniffer dog, and a diver checked the hull underwater. The Syros-Ermoupolis municipality made facilities available where evacuees could wait out the inspection.
According to the portal Cruise Mummy, the inspection found no suspicious objects, and passengers and crew were able to return on board. The departure, planned for around 5 p.m., was delayed by several hours. Israeli media reported that the ship was expected to reach Haifa on Thursday morning. As of publication, Greek services have not disclosed who made the report.
Background: Banned Protest and a Series of Alarms
As JFeed writes, the day before, port authorities banned a planned protest against the Crown Iris calling at the port. Since 2025, the ship has been a target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Greek ports. We have previously written about another threat to the Greek islands: wildfires on Zakynthos.
The alarm on the ship was one of several that same day. Reuters and Al Jazeera reported at least seven flight-related alerts. Police temporarily closed the airport near Warsaw, and Italian aviation escorted a Ryanair plane to Rome. Reuters wrote on X that Warsaw-Modlin airport was reopened after the alarm, and a second aircraft was checked at Warsaw Chopin Airport.
According to Reuters, Al Jazeera and Travel Weekly, no explosive devices were found in any of the cases. Rhys Jones, an analyst at Osprey Flight Solutions, said that seven confirmed flight-related alerts in one day was rare.
What It Means for Travelers
For passengers in Poland, the impact was limited to brief disruptions at the Modlin and Warsaw airports. Information about delays to specific flights should be sought from the airline or on the airports’ websites. As of publication, it has not been stated whether the matter is linked to earlier alerts concerning flights to and from Israel.
