MV Amalthea

MV Amalthea (built 1985) is a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship owned by A.C.A. Shipping in Greece.[1]

In 2010, Amalthea was chartered by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF), a Libyan charity organization headed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Renamed Hope for the voyage, it left the port of Lavrio, Greece around 8 pm on 10 July 2010 carrying 2,000 tons of food, medical supplies[2] and pre-fabricated houses.[3] Israel requested the United Nations to prevent Libyan sponsored Gaza-bound marine vessel from "violating the existing naval blockade on the Gaza Strip".[4] The ship docked at the port of El Arish, Egypt on 14 July[5] from where the supplies were reportedly to be taken to Gaza by road. The humanitarian aid and supplies were donated by Greek companies and charities.[2] "We got the grapes, so why kill the vineyard guard?" Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, GICDF chairman, explained the agreement of Libya to transfer fifty million US dollars through UNRWA for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.[6] According to reports the deal was brokered by Martin Schlaff, who is thought to have close ties to leaders in both Israel and Libya.[7]