Achille Lauro was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1994 off the Somali coast and sink to the sea floor two days later . The ship is best known for the fact that on 7 October 1985 was hijacked by Palestinian PLF, while it sailed in Egypt from Alexandria to Port Said.

PLF kidnapped the ship after Israel bombed the headquarters of PLO in Tunis . Kidnappers were surprised by the crew , so they react prematurely . They captured all the hostages and Captain was ordered to sail to Tartus in Syria. They demanded the release of 50 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Syrian authorities didn’t allow the ship to dock in Tartus , so the terrorists killed one passenger .

The victim was an American citizen, Leon Klinghoffer , who was in a wheelchair . His body was thrown across the deck . Ship shifted again to Port Said , and after two days of negotiations, they agreed to leave the ship , where they can freely travel to Tunisia, Egypt on a passenger plane.

The Flight on 10 October cut the Navy of the United States , and ordered him to be put into a NATO base at Sigonella in Sicily . After a short dispute between the Italians and the Americans,  kidnappers were arrested. The remaining passengers on board the aircraft were released . Among them was the leader of the hijackers Abu Abbas .

What happened to the kidnappers ?

Basam Al Asker was paroled in 1991 and died on 21 February 2004. Maruf Ahmad Al -Assad , while he was on parole in 1991 disappeared. Mr. Youssef Al silence was sentenced to 30 years in prison . 16th February 1996 during the 12 -day leave, fled to Spain , where he was again captured and handed over to the Italian authorities .

Abu Abbas, left Italy, because at first authorities thought  that he was only a witness, not a leader of the hijackers , and is being tried in absence . In 1996, he apologized for the attack on the ship and the murder . He called for a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians . His apology was rejected by the U.S. government , Abbas were captured during the war in Iraq in 2003. He died in captivity on 8 March 2004.