Fight on Greek islands ferry ends with arrest of 14 passengers

Captain forced to turn ship back to port and two replica guns later found, witnesses say

Fourteen passengers have reportedly been arrested after a fight broke out on a Greek islands passenger ferry.

The brawl, on board a ship carrying 717 passengers, is thought to have erupted when two men exchanged blows during a three-hour journey from the island of Tinos to Rafina on mainland Greece.

Other passengers claimed that one of the men had a firearm.

Some accounts suggested the fight, on Tuesday, began when one passenger asked a group to lower their voices.

The scuffle was so fierce that the captain turned the Golden Star Ferries Super Express back to Tinos, according to the Greek City Times.

Coastguard officials said police and port authorities questioned a total of 14 passengers, including three children, who were later released.

The other 11 faced charges of obstruction of public transport, the Protothema website said.

It added that when the fight broke out, the captain immediately took the boat back to the port of Tinos, where six were arrested. The other eight had been arrested on board.

A fake gun was reportedly found during an initial search, and one passenger told officials that there was another gun.

Two replica guns were found in luggage and confiscated, the website Libre reported.

Other passengers asked the coastguard to escort them when the ferry set sail again for Rafina, and two officials travelled on board.

Tinos, known for its picturesque villages, has been described by The Independent as “quiet, bucolic, rural”.

One born-and-bred resident said the island was so safe that residents left the keys in their scooters while they did their shopping and left their back doors unlocked at night.

Tinos has traditionally been an island of pilgrimage, and each year on 15 August, thousands of pilgrims from all around Greece descend upon Tinos to make their way up the hill on their hands and knees to the Panagia Evangelistria church in the centre of the main town.

Other visitors are attracted by the island’s art scene, rocky coves and beaches, and absence of big-brand chain outlets.