Vessel arrives in Turkey after escaping Suez Canal

A Turkish ship that defied an Egyptian court order and fled the Suez Canal with 9 Egyptian officials on board arrived in Turkey yesterday and let the unwilling passengers go free.

Officials from Egypt's consulate in Istanbul accompanied by Turkish security officials, boarded the vessel and secured the release of their compatriots after four days on board.

"We boarded and it did not slow down. We could not believe it. We were given a cabin and stayed there," Nabil Fahmy, one of the Suez canal officials, told reporters aboard the vessel in Istanbul, Al Gomhoria daily said today.