Feature story - August 7, 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.
Rainbow Warrior loading supplies for MSF humanitarian mission to Lebanon.
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.