The 50-year-old former fishing vessel MV KATE is due to leave Kinsale Fisheries Pier on Sunday afternoon, bound for Gaza in an attempt to breach the Israeli naval blockade and deliver relief supplies to Palestinians.
Previous attempts by vessels taking part in similar flotillas have been intercepted before reaching Gaza.
Mission Briefing – Frank Romano of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition aboard mv KATE during the vessel’s stopover in Kinsale ahead of her planned voyage towards Gaza.
KATE has been refurbished following her former career as a fishing vessel and obtained a leisure licence to allow her to leave British waters for the voyage.
The vessel began her passage in Bristol before calling at Kinsale, where organiser Frank Romano said she received a supportive welcome from townspeople.
Kinsale Stopover – mv KATE at Kinsale Fisheries Pier after arriving from Bristol en route to Gaza, where the vessel is intended to carry relief supplies for Palestinians.
She was skippered from Bristol to Kinsale by Irish sailor Fiacc O Brolchain, who was detained by Israeli forces earlier this year during a previous mission. He will not continue aboard *KATE* for the passage towards Gaza.
Romano is a member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and an international lawyer who has represented Palestinian cases before the International Court of Justice. He has himself been detained and deported following previous flotilla voyages.
I went aboard MV KATE in Kinsale to talk to Romano about the vessel, her unusual conversion from a working fishing boat and what could happen to her if she is intercepted and detained by Israeli forces.
Listen to the podcast below.
