Security fears divert cruises

Two cruise ships from Israel carrying 1,600 passengers to Turkey were diverted to Cyprus yesterday because of security fears in the second such incident in four days.

Since Friday, 6,100 passengers on four cruises to Turkey from Israel have been diverted because of what a top Israeli counter terrorism official said was "very worrying" information of possible al-Qaeda attacks on global tourist spots.

The two ships diverted yesterday included Dream Princess, one of three ships forced once already to change direction from Turkey to Cyprus on Friday when the first anti-terrorism alert was issued.

The three ships spent Friday night at Cypriot ports before resuming their voyages.

The Dream Princess returned to Israel, picked up new passengers and was again on its way to Turkey when it was ordered again yesterday to divert to Cyprus along with another ship, the Mirage.

Witnesses said Israeli and Cypriot guards were patrolling the area around Limassol where the ships were docked.

"The ship owners tell us that they have instructions from Israeli authorities to avoid approaching Turkish ports," Cyprus Ports Authority chairman Chryssis Prenzas told Reuters.

"We are not being told why, but the understanding we have is that Turkish authorities are not giving Israelis the security guarantees they required," Mr Prenzas said.

In Israel, Danny Arditi, head of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Counter-Terrorism Bureau, said there were "Islamist threats" in southern Turkey in Kemer, Ankara and Antalya.

Mr Arditi told Israeli Radio "very worrying figures reached us last week about al-Qaeda."

"These groups are located in these areas and aren't targetting Israelis specifically, but rather tourists in general," he said. "I think tourist spots around the world are potential targets for terror attacks."

Israeli media have said there were fears the cruise ships could be targeted by smaller boats packed with explosives, similar to the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.

The head of the Israeli Travel Agents Association, Yossi Fatael, told Israel Radio that about 40,000 Israelis were supposed to travel to Turkey in the coming weeks.