Gaza aid ship to be towed for repairs in another Mediterranean harbour

Ian Borg thanks Turkish foreign minister for assistance

A Gaza humanitarian aid ship that was reportedly bombed by drones off Malta earlier this month is to be towed to another Mediterranean port for repairs.

The MV Conscience suffered damage to its front section in the attack on May 2 as it lay at anchor just outside Maltese territorial waters, waiting for activists to board.

A Malta government surveyor had described the damage as 'minor’ and the Maltese government had offered to pay for repairs at sea while refusing entry to the vessel.

The ship is operated by the Freedom Flotilla, which says it is planning to use another vessel to deliver food aid to Gaza, attempting to break an Israeli blockade.   

Foreign Minister Ian Borg said on X on Sunday that the vessel will be towed “to a Mediterranean port”.

He said 12 individuals on board will be granted entry to Malta to board outbound flights.

Another six individuals were brought to Malta and immediately flown out on May 7.

Borg thanked Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for his assistance throughout the process. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.