Ferry service will be launched between Yalikavak port of Turkey's coastal Bodrum town and the Greek island Samos, officials said on Saturday.

A ferry named "Bodrum Express Lines", carrying 35 passengers including numerous Greek officials, travelled from Samos to Yalikavak port on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters upon the ferry's arrival, Thanos Stulianos, deputy governor of Samos, said that a regular ferry service would be initiated between Yalikavak and Samos in an effort to boost commercial and cultural relations between Turkey and Greece.

The ferry trips between the two ports will start next week, officials said.

Yalikavak is a town near Bodrum in Mugla province, in the Aegean coast of Turkey. It is 18 km to Bodrum and located at the north eastern tip of the Bodrum peninsula. It is an important tourist resort.

Samos is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea.

AA