Rainbow Warrior Delivers Doctors Without Borders Aid to Beirut

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Doctors Without Borders was planning to ship some 180 tons from Cyprus to Lebanon, but was experiencing serious difficulties in finding reliable transportation since very few boats are willing to sail to Lebanon given the conflict. It was for this reason that Greenpeace 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. (To find out more about the work of Doctors Without Borders in Lebanon and other parts of the world go to www.doctorswithoutborders.org).

"Doctors Without Borders 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 Doctors Without Borders in Beirut. "Our teams will have to get these supplies from the harbor to the people who need them most: to the displaced, but also to those who remain in the south.  Doctors Without Borders' 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."

Clearly not designed for cargo transport, the Rainbow Warrior has capacity for transporting 40 tons, equivalent to 105 pallets. The trip from Cyprus 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 Doctors Without Borders.

Doctors Without Borders 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.