The Conscience Ship Is To Be Towed To Another Port In The Mediterranean
The Conscience, a ship containing humanitarian supplies and activists heading to Gaza, will be towed to another port in the Mediterranean announced Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg on social media.
“During these last days the Ministry, led y myself, co-ordinated with the security and maritime authorities in our country with the aim to find a solution for ‘The Conscience’ that has been anchored outside our waters since the beginning of the month, while also prioritising national security,” said Borg in a statement on social media.
“With the help of the Turkish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Malta,, we managed to find a solution so that in the next hours, the ship will be towed towards another port in the Mediterranean. At the same time, the 12 people aboard will be brought to Malta to fly back to their country at the earliest opportunity,” Borg continued.
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The vessel was reportedly attacked by drones earlier in May when it was located 14 nautical miles off Malta. It had 12 crew members and four civilian passengers on board who were not injured. The hull sustained damage which resulted in a fire and operational failure.
Malta responded swiftly to the emergency, and dispatched emergency teams to extinguish the fire and ensure that everyone aboard got the aid they needed. On the day of the damage, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government offered to bring all crew and passengers ashore, without the vessel- an offer that was refused.
In the penultimate developments, it was known that the people aboard The Conscience expressed readiness to work with authorities to allow temporary docking, repairs and inspections to resume their mission in Gaza.
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