passenger ship
A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...
''Lazio'', she was converted to a Ro-Ro ferry in 1967. In 1979, she was sold to Greece and renamed ''Sant Andrea''. A sale in 1984 saw her renamed ''Makedonia'', followed by a chartering in 1985 which saw her renamed ''Summer Star''. A sale in 1986 saw her renamed ''Corfu Diamond'' and after a further sale in 1988 she was renamed ''Larnaca Rose''. In 1992, she was sold to
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
and was renamed ''Avrasya''. Following the hijacking incident, she was renamed ''Cortina'', then ''Avrasya I'' in 1997. She was sold for scrapping in November 1997.
Description
The ship was long, with a beam of and a draught of . She was 3,838 GT, 1,197 DWT. The ship was powered by four 6-cylinder
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s ( ), which could propel her at . As a passenger ship, she could carry 678 passengers in 377 berths. Following rebuilding as a Ro-Ro ferry, she could carry 1,000 passengers in 478 berths, and 110 cars.
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, she was one of the first three
post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
ships built for the company. Her sister ships were and . In 1967, ''Lazio'' was converted to a Ro-Ro ferry in 1967. With the introduction of
IMO Number
The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications:
* the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or,
* the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...
s, ''Lazio'' was allocated the number 5204588.
In 1979, ''Lazio'' was sold to a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
buyer and was renamed ''Sant Andrea''. She was chartered in 1980 by Transazul Car Ferries, Port Vendres, France and used on the Port Vendres – Puerto de Alcudia,
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
, Spain route. In 1982, she was laid up in
Perama
Perama () is a coastal town and a suburb of Piraeus and belongs to the Piraeus regional unit and is the southwestern limit of Athens urban area. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km ...
, Greece. In June 1984, ''Sant Andrea'' was sold to Achaid Lines,
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
and renamed ''Makedonia''. She was chartered to Panko Inc. in 1985 and renamed ''Summer Star''. In April 1985, she entered service on the
Patras
Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...
–
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...
–
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
–
Brindisi
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
route.
In July 1985, ''Summer Star'' was
arrest
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...
ed in Patras. Between August and October of that year, she was used on the
Limassol
Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...
–
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
route. On 24 December 1985, ''Summer Star'' was laid up in Piraeus. In December 1986, following a takeover of her owners by Agapito Bros, Piraeus, she was renamed ''Corfu Diamond''. During 1987, she served on the Brindisi – Patras route. In 1988, ''Corfu Diamond'' was sold to the Megacycle Shipping Co, Limassol,
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
and was renamed ''Larnaca Rose''. In 1991, she was laid up in Piraeus. ''Larnaca Rose'' was reflagged to
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
in 1992 and renamed ''Avrasya''. She entered service on the
Ancona
Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
– Kuşadası route. In 1993, ''Avrasya'' was sold to Mirror Holdings SA, Panama. She operated routes on the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
Trabzon
Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...
, Turkey by six Turkish citizens descended from the Caucasus and two Chechen and one Abkhaz, led by AbkhazMuhammed Tokcan.
There were 45 crew and 120 passengers on board at the time. The hijackers threatened to kill a hostage every 10 minutes unless the captain of the ship revealed himself and agreed to sail out of port. The Turkish authorities did not prevent the ship from leaving port. The rebels threatened to sink the ship in the Bosporus Strait if fighting continued in Pervomayskoye. Two
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s and a
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
of the
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...
shadowed ''Avrasya''. Negotiations with the hijackers failed to obtain the release of a
diabetic
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
police officer and a
pregnant
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
woman. The hijacking ended without bloodshed on 19 January and ''Avrasya'' put into
Karadeniz Ereğli
Karadeniz Ereğli (or Ereğli) is a city in Zonguldak Province of Turkey on the Black Sea shore. It is the seat of Ereğli District.
. Thirteen of the hostages were taken to hospital. On 21 January, she departed Karadeniz Ereğli for her original destination of
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
, Russia. The hijackers who were Turkish citizens,
Erdinç Tekir
Erdinç Tekir (born November 17, 1966) is a Turkish member of the IHH of Abkhaz origin.Aliağa, Turkey for scrapping.