Greenpeace Sending 50-metre Ship to Support Gaza Aid Flotilla

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Greenpeace has announced that it will send a 50-metre ship to support the next Gaza aid flotilla, which is scheduled to depart Barcelona on Sunday.

Flotilla organisers have said the boat, Arctic Sunrise, will sail alongside more than 70 vessels and 1000 participants, in a new attempt – the largest ever – to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza.

In a statement, the environmental organisation said it would provide “technical and operational maritime support” within the Mediterranean. It’s likely to turn back 200 nautical miles from Palestine. 

Not only is Greenpeace the biggest and best-known NGO to join the flotilla, but its practical assistance will likely prove crucial to the mission.

In October 2025, Israel unlawfully seized more than 50 flotilla boats in international waters, the furthest still 120 nautical miles from Gaza, closer to the coast of Egypt, and detained around 600 participants for several days. Many reported brutal treatment in Israeli custody, including being sexually assaulted and beaten by prison guards and soldiers. 

Before it arrived, weeks behind schedule, the mission was blighted by organisational issues, making search-and-rescue support vital. An Italian NGO ship, Life Support, provided repairs, rescues and resupplies throughout the journey, in which some boats reportedly ran out of food, water and fuel. Boats that sank had to be rescued by the Turkish Red Crescent and the Spanish coastguard. Many others that were not seaworthy couldn’t sail or only made it a short distance, disappointing activists who had travelled from around the world to be there, often at high personal cost.

Three international navies (Spanish, Italian and Turkish frigates) also provided support last time, helping to see off drone strikes (directly connected to Israel by leaked military intelligence), that damaged boats and endangered lives. 

While Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) organisers told Novara Media they had learned from the last mission, and have had far more time to prepare for this one, many onlookers, including past participants, expect repeat issues – especially given the increased size of this flotilla.

GSF said this mission – which will be jointly run by three groups, including the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which has decades of experience sending boats to Gaza – will carry “hundreds of medics, teachers, and eco-builders, bringing vital expertise in healthcare, education, and sustainable rebuilding directly to support Palestinians in Gaza”.

The group is also planning two land convoys, from Africa and Asia. Last June, a similar attempt by many of the same organisers, the Global March to Gaza, was cancelled amid widespread chaos, with hundreds of people arrested or deported by Egyptian authorities.

The ongoing situation in Gaza, however, makes direct action feel imperative to many, irrespective of the risks.  

Ghiwa Nakat, executive director of Greenpeace MENA, said: “The devastation inflicted on Gaza has become a dangerous doctrine of impunity, now spreading to Lebanon through relentless destruction and deepening human suffering. 

“The Greenpeace ship is joining this people-led mission to demand safe, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and to challenge the illegal blockade that continues to devastate civilian life.”