London organizers have touched off a diplomatic row by declining an offer from Greece to supply a replica war vessel that would have carried the Olympic torch to the 2012 London Games, British media reported Thursday.
The 70-foot, wooden warship is a replica of Olympias, an ancient Greek vessel used in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
Officials are concerned the spectacle of the barge would lead to traffic chaos and the possibility of spectators throwing themselves from bridges, The Telegraph reported. It was expected to have been powered by local rowers down the Thames, carrying the flame from Tower Bridge to the stadium in Stratford.
