Iran & Mongolia HU Travellers held up at ferry port.
 

This is a bit of a sad tale for the beginning of a trip, but it does highlight some serious shortcomings by some travellers.

On Sunday morning 11th May I waved off from Orange in the South of France, HU traveller Thierry Floreck and his team en route for Mongolia via Turkey and Iran, and fellow travellers Jo & Marie Helene Camblong who are spending a month travelling In Iran. These are highly experienced global travellers, embarked on time critical journeys due to the visa requirements. I received news early this morning that they had reached the boat heading for Greece in good time, but had been held up for more than 7 hrs ( so far) at the ferry port by a group of motorcyclists from the U.K. who were travelling without correct ( and in some cases any) paperwork, incuding passports. The authorities and the ferry line decided to impound the whole boat until things had been resolved. I am awaiting updates, but as you may imagine our French friends are seriously p'eed off at the moment.

I have some words of advice for the inconsiderate few, but they are not repeatable here, even as asteriscs or exclamation marks.

Ferry from where to Greece.

Interesting.
How did they get as far as they did, presumaby from the UK, without showing a passport?
I can guess, and it won't occur for much longer if and when the newly imposed border controls for the UK are functioning fully.

Apart from that, anyone who is pee'd off with a 7 hour delay best stay at home.

Sounds like there's some creative license in this "story". An entire ferry is impounded because some "UK motorcyclists" don't have the correct paperwork :rofl:

That ferries from anywhere to Greece run late is no surprise. I sat on the dock at Ancona in Italy once while waiting for my ferry to Greece to load: It left 4 or 5 hours late.

Your French friends better get used to the fact that the rest of the world isn't quite as Teutonically efficient as France.

Just some quick stuff. Ferry was from Italy, and for those who think I'm embellishing things to make a good story, Here's the message received. translation underneath.

Minoan Lines.
Nous sommes toujours à quai. La faute à un groupe de connards... Pardon... Motards anglais, dont 2 ou 3 des membres n'ont aucun document officiel avec eux (passeport, etc). Et si ça se trouve, aucun billet. Tentative de resquillage? Résultat: la compagnie et les autorités compétentes ont pris le bateau entier en otage.
Nous ne savons pas quand nous partirons. Et encore moins quand nous arriverons. — en colère, avec Thierry Floreck et JO Camblong, à Minoan Lines Ancona-Patras.

We are still at the quay. The problem is a group of bastards... pardon....English Motorcyclists, of which two or three haven't any official documents with them ( passport etc). And as it turns out no tickets. Trying to get a free ride??. Result , the comapny and the competent authorities have seized the entire boat.
We don't know when we will leave, and even less when we will arrive _ angry, with Thierry and JO at Minoan lines Ancona- Patras.

I never said you were embellishing the story Pongo. I suggest your worldly wise friends aren't telling the whole story though.

I struggle to believe that a ferry would be impounded because 2 or 3 people on motorcycles try to board the boat without a ticket or passport or both. What usually happens in 99.99% of the world when you try to board a bus/train/ship/aeroplane without a ticket is they politely or impolitely tell you to go buy one or get lost. If you get caught without the correct paperwork (eg. a passport) you get arrested by the police.

Why would the other (several hundred?) passengers be made to suffer for the alleged actions or inaction (lack of a ticket/passport) of 2 or 3?!

More likely the delay is caused by the fact that all the vehicles, including lorries and cars with trailers have to reverse on as the ship only has one door and bikes are loaded last. Your friends are stuck on the dockside breathing in diesel fumes in the heat of the midday and afternoon sun. That's what happened to me in Ancona. That however doesn't make such a good story.

Thank you though for the heads up: I'll bear in mind your advice and avoid all English motorcyclists. :blushing: Damn les rostbeefs!

Minoan Lines has "impounded" it's own boat? What does that really mean?

You need a passport to get out of the UK in my experience what other paper work does a european need to travel around Europe ?

It's obvious to me that these English bastards are indeed the old cast of Top Gear who have once again created dual-purpose amphibious boat-bikes and this time managed to propel themselves across the English Channel thus avoiding UK Border Agency passport checks.

Once in Italy, it's also quite obvious that Italian customs have stopped them and asked to check their papers before allowing them to board the ferry. Clarkson has gone mental and demanded that he is given 'right of passage' to Greece, it's likely that this request has been refused.

This probably led to James May asking the ferry company to impound it's own boat until the matter is resolved. Impossible! I hear you shout....not when you have an accent that harks back to the days of Empire I tell you.

While this fiasco was going on at the customs booth, Hammond sneaks onto the ship and begins a 7 hour Ouzo drinking session with the Greek captain and his crew, who, at the moment, need no excuse to sink a few shots.

This is bound to annoy the highly experienced global travelers. They have my sympathies.

:D :rofl:

I also think your story is (partially) made up... Clarkson hates bikes and May is confused. Hammond however likes bikes.

I presume he's on a Vincent Black Shadow (Faster than a F16 until takeoff...): The Great Train Race, part 1/4 (Series 13, Episode 1) - BBC Top Gear