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
News
POTSDAM
An incident involving spy drones occurred in the North Sea, when seven suspected Russian drones followed the 'Potsdam' for three hours. The patrol boat's task in the North Sea was to monitor the Russian freighter "Lauga" (IMO: 9111060) en route to Zeebrugge, where it berthed on May 28, 205. The 'Potsdam' was monitoring it about 140 kilometers north of the island of Borkum. The drones followed the vessel for almost three hours. Federal police officers on the patrol vessel were unable to identify the type of drone, they only recognized the green and red navigation lights. The police boat's resources were insufficient to take photographs of the drones at night. It was initially suspected that the drones had been launched from the Russian freighter, but there was no evidence of this. In order to find out more about the suspected spy drones from Russia, the police officers on the ship contacted the Federal Police Directorate in Bad Bramstedt. They asked the authorities in Belgium to inspect the Russian ship in the port of Zeebrugge, however, no evidence of drone technology was found on board. The "Lauga" left the port again the same day, en route to St. Petersburg in Russia, with an EA as of June 2.
MARTIN I SOLER
The crew of the 'Martin I Soler', which connects Mallorca with Menorca and Barcelona, upon arriving in Ciutadella, encountered a locked cabin on the moprning of May 31, 2025. The crew was alerted because the guest who had spent the night in the cabin refused to leave despite repeated requests. When the door was opened, they crew discovered the lifeless body of a man. The deceased was a 58-year-old Spanish truck driver. An ambulance from Emergency Service 061 was immediately dispatched and could only confirm the man's death. The truck driver had apparently died several hours earlier.
STARLET
The "Starlet" was detained in Karadeniz Eregli on May 28, 2025, with 35 deficiencies, 25 of which being regarded ass seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Certificate & Doc - International Air Pollution Prevention Not as required 2) Certificate & Doc - Log-books/compulsory entries Not as requird 3) Certificate & Doc - Stability information booklet Not as required 4) Certificate & Doc - Booklet for bulk cargo loading/unloading/stowage Not as required 5) Certificate & Doc - Energy Efficiency Design Index Not as required 6) Certificate & Doc - Fire control plan - all Not as required 7) Certificate & Doc - International Sewage Pollution Prevention Cert Not as required 8)) Certificate & Doc - Continuous synopsis record Not as required 9) Living and working - Sanitary facilities Not hygienic 10) Living and working - Galley, handlingroom (maintenance) Not as required 11) Living and working - Obstruction/slipping etc Not as required 12) Living and working - Lighting (working spaces) Inoperative 13) Living and working - Pipes, wires (insulation) Not as required 14) Structural conditions - Beams, frames, floors corrosion Corroded 15) Structural conditions - Opening to cargo area, doors, scuttles' Unsafe 16) Structural conditions - Bulkhead- corrosion Corroded 17) Structural conditions - Decks - cracking Cracked 18) Pollution Prevention - Marking and labelling Not as required 19) Pollution Prevention - Other (Marpol Annex I) Other 20) Safety of navigation - Charts Expired 21) Safety of navigation - Nautical publications Expired 22) Safety of navigation - Compass correction log Not as required 23) Safety of navigation - Navigation records Not as required 24) Emergency systems - Fire drills Lack of training 25) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel eas still anchored off the port in po. 41° 17' N 031° 25' E as of June 1. The last detention was on Sep 13, 2024, Tulcea with 22 deficiencies -for four days. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591
LAUGA
An incident involving spy drones occurred in the North Sea, when seven suspected Russian drones followed the patrol vessel 'Potsdam' (IMO: 9830018) of the Federal German Police for three hours. The patrol boat's task in the North Sea was to monitor the Russian "Lauga" en route to Zeebrugge, where it berthed on May 28, 205. The 'Potsdam' was monitoring it about 140 kilometers north of the island of Borkum. The drones followed the vessel for almost three hours. Federal police officers on the patrol vessel were unable to identify the type of drone, they only recognized the green and red navigation lights. The police boat's resources were insufficient to take photographs of the drones at night. It was initially suspected that the drones had been launched from the Russian freighter, but there was no evidence of this. In order to find out more about the suspected spy drones from Russia, the police officers on the ship contacted the Federal Police Directorate in Bad Bramstedt. They asked the authorities in Belgium to inspect the Russian ship in the port of Zeebrugge, however, no evidence of drone technology was found on board. The "Lauga" left the port again the same day, en route to St. Petersburg in Russia, with an EA as of June 2.