tagged: Athens, Audacity of hope, ban, Flotilla 2, Greece, Israel, july 1 2011, Perama Port, ship to gaza

Greece Bans Boat to Gaza from Leaving Port (video)

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Ship to Gaza

“Audacity of Hope”, a vessel with humanitarian aid bound to Gaza Strip, was forced to return after Greek coastal guards boarded on the ship just two nautical miles off shore the Perama port, east of Piraeus. The vessel carrying several dozen American activists had been intercepted by coast guards on Zodiac speed boats. “The decision to return was made by the captain”, says twitter @USBOATTOGAZA.

The vessel had left the Perama port in festive Dixie mood

USBOATTOGAZA wrote in Youtube:
“As of 11:15 am (NYC time) there is a stand off between The Audacity of Hope and the Greek Coast Guard. One Greek official told the captain of our boat that it was unsafe for them to continue to sail. Our captain said, given the sabotage of boats docked in and around Athens, it’s not safe to return”.

The acitvists insist of not boarding off the vessel.

The decision to prohibit the sail of the ships to Gaza was taken by Greece Minister for Citizens’ Protection Chistos Papoutsis.

As the Associated Presse was so kind quick to write the whole story about the Freedom Flotilla2, I don’t need to add more:

Greece bars boats leaving Greek ports for Gaza

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA – 2 hours ago

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Friday banned ships heading to the Gaza Strip from leaving Greek ports, and a vessel carrying several dozen American protesters which left port without permission was ordered to return.

A flotilla of nine Greek and foreign-flagged vessels and several hundred activists have said they want to break Israel’s sea blockade and deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.

Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry said coast guard authorities had been ordered to take “all appropriate measures” to implement the ban. It also said the “broader maritime area of the eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating” in the flotilla.

Protest organizers said one of the boats, dubbed the Audacity of Freedom and carrying several dozen Americans, had left the port of Perama near Athens Friday afternoon, but had been intercepted by coast guards on inflatable speedboats about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) out at sea.

“We’re not moving because they put one of the (boats) in front of us, so we are stationary,” vessel spokesperson Jane Hirschmann told reporters in Athens.

The Merchant Marine Ministry refused to give any details of the incident, saying only that the protest boat had not left the “general port area.”

Head protest organizer Vangelis Pissias angrily condemned the ban and argued Greece had no legal grounds to block a privately leased ship from leaving one of its ports.

“We condemn the policy of the Greek government and its last actions … The efforts to sail will continue,” Pissias said.

A Greek government official said the boat had set sail without the permission required of all boats to leave port, and that the Coast Guard had asked it to return. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation was still evolving.

Israel has said it will thwart any effort to breach the sea blockade of Gaza, which was imposed on the Palestinian territory after Hamas militants overran it in 2007.

An Israeli raid on a similar flotilla last year killed nine activists on a Turkish ship and each side blamed the other for the violence.

On Thursday, an Irish ship, the MV Saoirse at the Turkish coastal town of Gocek, said it had to abandon plans to set sail because of what it called Israeli sabotage. Earlier this week, activists said Israeli agents damaged the propeller of a Swedish ship in the Greek port. Israel has refused AP requests for comment on the allegations.