07 August
2006 - Larnaca, Cyprus — The Rainbow Warrior has
returned to Larnaca, Cyprus, after its second
trip to Beirut delivering a total of 60 tonnes
of urgently needed humanitarian supplies on behalf
of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
A further hundred tonnes are still scheduled to
be transported.
MSF was planning to ship some
180 tonnes from Larnaca to Lebanon, but was experiencing
serious difficulties in finding reliable transportation
since very few boats are willing to sail to Lebanon
given the conflict. This why we offered the use
of the Rainbow Warrior, which was already in the
Mediterranean. However, delivery to Beirut is
only the first step in an arduous journey to those
in need. (For more about the work of MSF in Lebanon
and other parts of the world go to www.msf.org).
"MSF is pleased to have
drugs, medical supplies, baby milk and relief
goods transported to Beirut by the Rainbow Warrior,
however, this is only the first step", said
Bart Rijs, of MSF in Beirut. "Our teams will
have to get these supplies from the harbour to
the people who need them most: to the displaced,
but also to those who remain in the south. MSF's
teams will try to bring supplies to the hospitals
and to the people in the areas were the bombardment
and the fighting are the worst."
Not designed for cargo transport,
the Rainbow Warrior has capacity for transporting
40 tonnes, equivalent to 105 pallets. The trip
from Larnaca to Beirut takes around 16 hours.
In total each trip takes some 35 hours, including
up to 3 hours to off load in Beirut. To minimize
security risk the Israeli and the Lebanese authorities
are informed of each crossing.
It is not yet clear how many
more rotations the Rainbow Warrior will make for
MSF.
Médecins Sans Frontières
has over 40 international staff running fixed
and mobile clinics, supplying hospitals and clinics
with drugs, and delivering relief goods in areas
that are severely affected by the conflict. Reaching
the most affected populations with the aid continues
to be a major challenge.
