Seized ship sold for Gaza aid voyage

A SHIP originally arrested by authorities here due to the maltreatment of its crew is now bound for Gaza to bring medical, educational and construction supplies to the country.

The MV Linda was originally one of three ships operated by the Latvian-based Forestry Shipping group to transport cargo across Europe.

Repeated investigations by the International Transport Federation led it to believe crew were not being paid and, in some cases, were not even being given enough food.

The Linda’s sister ship, the Defender, was a regular visitor to Ireland and was arrested twice.

Towards the end of last year, the Defender and the third ship Fairlane were arrested for the final time in Holland and both ships were sold to pay the owed wages to their crews.

Forestry’s last ship, the MV Linda, still remained in operation, but its freedom was shortlived.

The vessel once again came to the attention of the ITF when it entered Dundalk port and the crew contacted ITF inspector Ken Fleming to tell him they had been abandoned.

The vessel was arrested and sold after being seized by the High Court.

The Free Gaza campaign purchased the vessel for €70,000 – enough to pay the sailors.

Yesterday, the vessel was officially renamed the Rachel Corrie in honour of a young US human rights activist who died during a protest to stop Israeli forces bulldozing Palestinian homes.