Second aid ship carrying 200 tonnes of food ready to sail off to Gaza

A second aid ship loaded with food and other supplies for Gaza could sail off soon after the first vessel successfully delivered humanitarian resources.

The Jennifer was set “to depart for Gaza today or tomorrow,” foreign ministry spokesperson Theodoros Gotsis told state radio.

The cargo ship, Jennifer, has been loaded with 200 tonnes of food, US charity World Central Kitchen said. However, the ship’s voyage might be deterred by bad weather, making it hard to predict when it would set sail for Gaza or when the first vessel.

“Maritime weather reports show bad weather from Sunday until end of next week —- so exact timing of sailing for either boat to return to Gaza is not available at this time,” the charity said in a statement.

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What is Jennifer carrying?

The cargo on the Jennifer includes “pallets of canned goods and bulk product – including beans, carrots, canned tuna, chickpeas, canned corn, parboiled rice, flour, oil and salt,” the charity said.

It also includes a forklift and a crane to assist with deliveries, it said.

Additionally, the United Arab Emirates has sent “a special load of 120 (kilogrammes of) fresh dates,” it added.

Meanwhile, the first cargo ship, Open Arms, has reportedly begun to return to Cyprus.

How does the maritime corridor work?

In November 2023, Cyprus first presented the idea of creating a sea corridor to supply aid to Gaza at the International Aid Conference in Paris.

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The plan called the ‘Amalthea Initiative’, caught the attention of other countries including Jordan, Egypt and the UAE who are now involved in making the project a reality.

The 25-page-long document detailing the plan has five stages through which food, medical and shelter supplies would be shipped to Gaza’s beaches.

The aid is collected and compiled at a base in southern Cyprus’ Larnaca, which is 210 nautical miles away from Gaza and is equipped with an airport and a seaport.

The supplies are run through a security check by Israeli authorities following which they will be loaded into ships that will sail to Gaza and will be accompanied by warships to avoid any untoward incident.

With inputs from agencies