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Gaza journey of MV Rachel Corrie


Coordinates: 31°25′N 33°59′E / 31.41°N 33.99°E / 31.41; 33.99

The Cambodian-flagged IrishMV Rachel Corrie was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that sailed to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid in 2010. The ship was unable to join the other six ships in the flotilla because of mechanical problems that forced it to undergo repairs in Malta. The other six ships were confronted by a raid on 31 May 2010 during which nine activists were killed by Israeli naval forces.

The aid-carrying vessel got under way on 31 May 2010, with its crew insisting that they would go to Gaza. The governments of Israel and Ireland reached an agreement to unload the ship's cargo in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod, but the group sponsoring the ship rejected the proposal. Israeli commandos boarded the ship from speedboats at around noon on 5 June 2010, in international waters about 30 kilometers from Gaza. The Israeli commandos seized control, and the ship and its passengers were diverted towards Israel, away from its original course. After an inspection, Israel delivered the entire cargo to Gaza, including cement, which is usually banned.

On 3 June, in the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla raid, activists revealed there was another Gaza-bound aid ship, the MV Rachel Corrie: this was expected to arrive in the region early the following week.

The vessel is a former merchant ship owned and operated by the Free Gaza Movement. It was partially funded by the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian NGO headed by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. The ship is Irish-owned, and had the former Assistant UN Secretary-General Denis Halliday and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire on board. Halliday said that the ship would stop only when Israelis forced the ship to do so.


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