The stricken Gaza aid ship Conscience is to be towed to another port in the Mediterranean for repairs, Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg said on Sunday.
The Conscience became the subject of international news when it was allegedly struck by two Israeli drones just outside Malta’s territorial waters at the start of this month.
A surveyor dispatched by the Maltese government described the damage as “minor” and the government offered to pay for repairs just as long as they were done at sea.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Borg said that the vessel “will soon be towed to a Mediterranean port.”
“The 12 individuals on board will be repatriated by first being granted entry into Malta, from where they will board outbound flights,” Borg said.
Six other individuals had been onboard the vessel at the time of the incident: they were brought to Malta and flown out of the country on 5 May.
Borg didn’t say which port will be taking the vessel in, but thanks the Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey for “their assistance throughout the process.”
The Conscience is operated by aid group Freedom Flotilla and it was planning to make a run into Palestine to deliver food aid to Gaza, breaking an Israeli blockade. It was to make a stop in Malta to pick up several activists – including well-known climate activist Greta Thunberg – before proceeding to Gaza.
Freedom Flotilla is still planning to carry out its mission, but using a different vessel.
In a statement issued later on Sunday, the government said that since the beginning of this month, the Government of Malta, through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, and the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works, in coordination with the Armed Forces of Malta, the Police, Transport Malta and the Harbour Master, has been working to seek solutions for the vessel Conscience, which has been anchored outside Malta’s territorial waters, while ensuring that national security is safeguarded.
“This reflects Prime Minister Robert Abela’s commitment to supporting the vessel outside, Malta’s territorial waters,” the government said.
“The two objectives of this operation were to ensure that the persons on board the vessel could be given the opportunity to rest, after days at sea, and for its owner to bring the vessel to a port where it can berth,” the government said.
The first result of these efforts was achieved on 5th May, when six passengers aboard the vessel were assisted by the authorities to enter the Grand Harbour, where they were taken to the airport to board a flight back to their home country.
“This work continued over the past few days. The shipowner provided a tugboat, which arrived alongside the Conscience the day before yesterday, with the purpose of towing it. This operation could commence today, as weather conditions become favourable,” the statement continued.
On Sunday morning, preparations were underway for the vessel Conscience to be towed from Hurd’s Bank, where it was anchored, to another port in the Mediterranean, the government said.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism coordinated the deployment of a conveyance vessel to approach the Conscience and take its remaining twelve crew members on board, to be brought to Malta and immediately board a flight to their home country.
The government said that these actions were made possible with the support of the representative of the International Transport Workers Federation in Malta, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Turkish Embassy in Malta, whose commendable actions are contributing to the successful conclusion of the operation.