Where was the Gaza aid ship carrying activists intercepted?published at 16:21 British Summer Time
Ned Davies
BBC Verify open source investigator
Image source, ReutersA drone view of Madleen, the aid vessel operated by Freedom Flotilla Coalition
On Sunday, an aid vessel carrying activists – including Greta Thunberg – bound for the Gaza Strip was intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The ship, named the Madleen, is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC) – a group that says it’s working “to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza”.
BBC Verify has been looking at claims by the FCC that the vessel was intercepted in “international waters”. These are areas of water outside the territorial jurisdiction of any one country – normally 12 nautical miles (22km, 13 miles) from any coastline.
The FFC says that Israel “disregarded the international laws protecting civilian navigation”.
As a UK-registered vessel (listed under its formal name, the Barcarole) it would, in international waters, be subject to UK laws and regulations, under the protection of the UK.
Maritime lawyer Benjamin Maltby told the BBC that it would be highly unusual for a country to intercept and board a vessel registered to another country in international waters, adding that the move could be considered provocative.
The co-ordinates where the FFC claimed the interception occurred are 80km (50 miles) north of the Egyptian coastline, and around 200km (125 miles) from the coast of Gaza.
We have analysed information from MarineTraffic, which publishes data broadcast by vessels’ automatic identification system (AIS), as well as data from a tracking system installed onboard by the investigative group Forensic Architecture.
The location and time of the Madleen’s interception given by the FFC is consistent with the speeds, directions, and locations being broadcast by these two systems in the hours before the incident. There were no known Israeli naval vessels broadcasting their locations in the area at the time.
The IDF has been approached for comment on the location and legality of the interception. They have previously acknowledged that the Madleen was intercepted, and was being taking to an Israeli port.