Syrians begin boarding refugee ship on Greek island

Hundreds of Syrian migrants on the Greek island of Kos on Aug. 16 began boarding a passenger ship that is to house and process them, in a bid to ease sometimes chaotic conditions onshore.

Greek officials had delayed the embarkation at the quayside in Kos for more than a day, working on plans to avoid disorder among the increasingly desperate migrants who have arrived on the island in dinghies and small boats from nearby Turkey. 

The boarding of the car ferry Eleftherios Venizelos, which  arrived in Kos on Aug. 14, began in the cooler night hours in an organised and orderly fashion. 

After some minor disagreements among the migrants over who would go first, they queued up on the quayside and boarded in groups of 20. 

The ship, chartered by the Greek government, is to provide accommodation for around 2,500 Syrians in its cabins and an area for processing paperwork. 

As the Syrians are fleeing their country's civil war, they are treated as refugees. This gives them greater rights under international law than those from other countries regarded as economic migrants who have also crossed the narrow sea channel separating Kos from the Turkish coast. 

Nearly a quarter of a million migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. About half have come to the Greek islands, with numbers surging in the summer when calmer weather makes the voyage marginally less risky. 

The Greek government chartered the vessel - which belongs to a company which ships tourists, cars and trucks to the Greek islands and across the Adriatic to Italy - to take some of the pressure off Kos. 

Several thousand migrants are staying in hotels on the island if they...