Well-known Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was sailing to Gaza on Thursday. According to reports, she was aboard the Madleen, a sailboat operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
When the ship sailed from Catania in Sicily, it had 12 people on board, including “actor Liam Cunningham, known for his role in the series Game of Thrones,” New York-based new program Democracy Now! reported.
The ship is named for “Gaza’s first fisherwoman,” the report said. According to Marine Executive, a maritime industry news site, the boat “corresponds to a UK-registered 18-meter sailing vessel named Barcarole.”
The vessel left port on Sunday on what is thought to be an estimated 2,000-kilometer trip. There is a website dedicated to tracking its progress.
“In partnership with Forensic Architecture, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has equipped the Madleen with an advanced tracking system,” the Freedom Flotilla said. “This technology plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of those on board, maintaining transparency about the vessel’s location, and holding potential aggressors accountable for their actions.”
As of Thursday, the tracker had stopped working
Israel has said the sailboat will not be allowed to dock in the Gaza Strip. This is not the first time a group of activists has tried to sail to Gaza.
In 2010, hundreds of activists boarded six ships off Turkey, trying to reach the enclave. The IDF carried out a raid on their lead ship, the Mavi Marmara. Nine people were killed in the mêlée with the IDF, and the vessel was towed to Ashdod.
In 2015, another attempt to sail to Gaza was frustrated when a ship was damaged at a Greek port. The 2025 flotilla group already experienced issues off the coast of Malta.
In May, the Conscience ship claimed to have suffered damage and loss of power off Malta before heading to Gaza. Activists claimed drones had hit the boat.
This explains why the crew of the Madleen, while sailing off the coast of Crete, were afraid on the evening between Tuesday and Wednesday. They thought a drone was circling the ship.
Activists posted videos and claimed to be in distress. According to reports, it turned out that the drone was from Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard. The Madleen was around 68 km. outside of Greece’s territorial waters.
This is not Thunberg’s first long voyage at sea. She also took a transatlantic journey in 2019 to attend a climate conference in New York. That means she is experienced at sailing for long distances. It is unclear whether the other crew members have the same experience.
A LONG journey of 2,000 km. can take many days. A sailing vessel could reach six to twelve knots an hour, meaning it might sail between 100 and 250 nautical miles a day. Ergo, it can take more than four days to make this journey.
When one is sailing at sea in the open ocean, a boat does not usually stop. This is because there is wind, and even when the wind drops, the ship can continue on its journey on a diesel engine.
Using only an engine, it could also travel around 200 km. a day or more. A sailboat will not usually use its diesel engine for an extended period of time, because it does not want to waste fuel. On a long journey like this boat is embarking on, it will not want to go to port; it will want to conserve fuel.
The reason the Madleen will not want to dock in Greece or Cyprus is likely because the people on board fear that the vessel might be sabotaged or that authorities will prevent them from continuing on their journey.
Greece and Cyprus are both close friends of Israel. The ship will not want to stop in Egypt either, because it is an authoritarian state, although Egypt is an option. Turkey could also be an option, because Ankara tends to back Hamas. The vessel could also divert to Lebanon or Syria.
Sailing at sea over numerous days is challenging. A vessel may have a GPS system and satellite phones, but navigating at night is a complex task. This is because a small sailboat has to cross shipping lanes, and it will be near large ships.
It is hard to see a sailboat at night. A sailboat will usually have red and green lights, one on each side at the front, indicating port and starboard. It will have a white light on the stern and may also place lights on the mast. A white light on the mast will indicate the vessel is under engine power.
According to Marine Traffic, a vessel-tracking site, a vessel called Barcarole appeared to be just south of Crete as of Thursday afternoon. It also seemed to be heading slowly west at 1.5 knots.
This means that the boat was adrift or had stopped moving. It is unclear why. A photo of the Barcarole shows a vessel that resembles the Madleen, featuring a Palestinian flag. The ship appears to be a ketch, a type of two-masted sailboat with a mainmast that is taller than the smaller mizzenmast toward the rear.
If this sailboat is indeed off Cyprus, it will still need several more days of sailing before it reaches Israel’s coast.
Since the ship has been at sea for five days now, the crew will need to make sure they have enough food and water for everyone. They will also need to continue making contingency plans in case issues arise with their engine or other equipment.
The vessel appeared to be on a sea route near several large container ships. Horae, a crude oil tanker, was to the west, and a barge carrier and a cargo ship were to the east.
The crew may be suffering from boredom, seasickness, or crowding on a ship like this. Being at sea for so long with so many people can become a challenging experience, even for seasoned and veteran sailors.
It remains to be seen what other challenges they may face.