MV Mavi Marmara
MV Mavi Marmara leaving Antalya for Gaza on May 22, 2010.
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| History | |
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 Comoros
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| Name: | MV Mavi Marmara |
| Owner: | IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) |
| Operator: | IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) |
| Builder: | Türkiye Gemi Sanayii A.Ş. |
| Yard number: | 302 |
| Completed: | November 9, 1994 |
| Homeport: | Moroni, Comoros (2010). Previously Istanbul, Turkey |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9005869 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Passenger ship |
| Tonnage: | 4,142 GT |
| Length: | 93 m (305 ft) |
| Beam: | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Draft: | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Installed power: | 4,400 kW |
| Propulsion: | 2 |
| Speed: | max. 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h; 11.4 mph)- avg. 7.2 knots (13.3 km/h; 8.3 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1,080 passengers |
MV Mavi Marmara is a Comoros-flagged passenger ship, which was formerly owned and operated by İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. on the line Sarayburnu, Istanbul-Marmara Island-Avşa Island in the Sea of Marmara. Built at the Golden Gate Shipyard by Turkish Shipbuilding Co. in 1994, the ship has a capacity of 1,080 passengers. It is best known for its participation in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the deadly confrontation that took place on it during the Gaza flotilla raid.
The MV Mavi Marmara was purchased in 2010 by the IHH, a Turkish NGO active as a charity organization in more than 115 countries. The group has represented its Turkish language name in English in various ways, "IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation" among them. It has held Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2004, and is endorsed by international figures that include South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an NGO with close ties to the Israeli Defense Forces, along with multiple Israeli governmental officials have alleged that the IHH supports terrorism, has smuggled arms on behalf of terrorist groups, and has links to al-Qaeda and other Jihadist groups. The IHH denies these claims, and Greta Berlin, a director of the Free Gaza Movement, called the claims "utterly scurrilous", characterizing them as an attempt by the Israeli government to discredit the movement.
The German IHH is classified in Israel and Holland as a terrorist organization. Much of their money goes to the Union of Good, which is designated as a Specially Designated Terrorist Group by the US Office of Foreign Asset Control and banned by Executive Order 13224. In 2010, the US State Department expressed great concern over the group's links with senior Hamas officials.
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Wikipedia