Would-be jihadi fighters are booking tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass stepped-up efforts to thwart them in neighbouring Turkey, Interpol officials say.
This is one of the reasons why the international police body is preparing to expand a pilot program known as I-Checkit, under which airlines bounce passenger information off Interpol's databases – in hopes that one day the system could expand to include cruise operators, banks, hotels and other private-sector partners.
Turkey, with its long and often porous border with Syria, has been a major thoroughfare for many of the thousands of foreign fighters seeking to join extremists like the Islamic State group, which has captured territory across Iraq and Syria.
Speaking in Monaco, where Interpol is holding its general assembly this week, outgoing chief Ronald Noble confirmed that Turkey was a destination, but declined to identify any others. He also refused to indicate how many people might be involved, but called on countries to step up screening at all transportation hubs – "airports and, more and more, cruise lines".
Turkish authorities say they have set up teams to nab suspected foreign fighters in airports and bus stations, and have deported hundreds in recent months.
Pierre St Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol, suggested that the Turkish crackdown has shown results in recent months, and so some would-be jihadis are making alternative travel plans.
"Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there's a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas," he said on Thursday.
The phenomenon is relatively new, within the past three months or so, said other Interpol officials.
"Originally, our concern about people on cruise ships – dangerous people on cruise ships – really focused on the classic sort of rapist, burglar, or violent criminal," Noble said.
"But as we've gathered data, we've realised that there are more and more reports that people are using cruise ships in order to get to launch pads, if you will – sort of closer to the conflict zones – of Syria and Iraq."
Cruise ships, which often make repeated stops, offer an added benefit by allowing would-be jihadis to hop off undetected at any number of ports – making efforts to track them more difficult.
St Hilaire said it wasn't exactly clear yet how many would-be foreign fighters were travelling by cruise ship to reach Syria, and added that there were other options as well: to avoid passing through airports, some people have driven all the way from their homes in Europe to the Syrian border.
Elinore Boeke, director of public affairs for the Cruise Lines International Association, the world's largest cruise industry trade association denied security, at least in the US, was any more lax than other means of transportation.
"Cruise lines take security as seriously as the airlines, and security procedures are very similar. US-based cruise lines share passenger manifests with US authorities who check against official databases," Boeke said.
