BARCAROLE

Allgemeine Informationen

Kurs/Position

Die neuesten Nachrichten

First drone in vicinity, then distressed migrants were rescued

The 'Barcarole' continued to make its way across the Mediterranean heading towards Gaza although it had a brief scare on the night of June 3. The Freedom Flottllla group put out an urgent appeal for help after it detected a drone approximately 40 nautical miles outside of Greek waters. Te drone was briefly overhead and then departed. Later it was confirmed it was a Heron surveillance drone from the Greek Coast Guard. Greece, which regularly patrolled the region as it was monitoring movements especially because of the strong influx of small migrant boats in the region. The group of a dozen people aboard the 'Barcarole' includes the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, actor Liam Cunningham, and the member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan. The sailing ship will not be allowed to dock in the Gaza Strip. Israeli security authorities have decided, and the group is also not allowed to approach the sealed-off Palestinian territory, it was reported on June 4. They do not want to set a precedent. On June 5, the Defense Minister Israel Katz and high-ranking army officials are scheduled to discuss further steps. it is possible that the ship could be towed to the port of Ashdod and the activists on board arrested there. Israeli authorities have also previously denied activists permission to dock their ships in Gaza. The same day, the yacht received a call from Frontex about a distressed migrant vessel nearby. The crew diverted course for about two hours to assist. it found 30-40 people on a boat that was rapidly deflating. As the 'Barcarole' launched its own inflatable rescue boat, a Libyan Coastguard vessel approached at high speed. To avoid being taken by the Libyan authorities, four people jumped into the sea, and began desperately swimming toward the NGO ship, using inflatable tires as life-vests to remain afloat. The crew of the "Barcarole" then issued a mayday call itself, but other vessels remained at distance. A doctor onboard the 'Barcarole' inspected the four migrants reescued, and didn’t note any serious injuries, except for a man suffering from light hypothermia. The Sudanese men told that they had left Libya on June 1 in the hope of reaching Europe. They had been navigating for three days when the engine died. They later drifted for two more days, before being found. The humanitarian vessel initially planned on negotiating with Greek authorities to take charge of the migrants, because their objective was still to reach Gaza. Finally, a team from Frontex came to take the four rescued individuals into its charge. Report with photos: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/64998/activist-boat-with-aid-for-gaza-rescues-four-migrants-in-mediterranean-sea

Israel plans to stop aid ship

Israel plans to stop the ' Barcarole' (Madleen), which is trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and is bringing aid to the enclave, maintaining the 'maritime security zone' around Gaza. The ship left Sicily and is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), a network of activists that has previously sailed to Gaza on similar missions. There are 12 people on board, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Irish actor Liam Cunningham and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan. According to the FFC, it is a peaceful act of civil disobedience. The crew is trained in non-violent resistance. The yacht is carrying urgently needed aid, such as baby food, rice, flour, diapers, sanitary towels, medical supplies and water supply kits. The organizers want to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

NGO ship left Catania in next attempt to deliver supplies to Gaza

One month after the first attempt to sail to Gaza was stopped when the 'Consicence' was attacked, the activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition has launched a second attempt with the 'Barcarole', named 'Madleen' for Gaza’s first and only fisherwoman, which set out from the port of Catania on June 1, 2025, with the declared intent to challenge Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza as “a peaceful act of civil resistance. All the volunteers and crew aboard the Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed", as the group said in a statement, while understanding the risk of interception by Israeli naval forces. The Coalition says they put aboard an advanced tracking system which currently shows them sailing at 5.7 knots. As such, it would take them a week to complete the 1,000-nautical mile trip to Gaza. On board, are volunteers from multiple countries, among them a member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, climate justice activist Greta Thunberg, and according to some reports the Irish actor Liam Cunningham. The ship is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/ngo-launches-second-attempt-to-sail-to-gaza-without-its-damaged-ship