MV ''Mariam'' is a Bolivian- flagged passenger ferry with a . Built in 1982 at

Westermoen Hydrofoil Westermoen Hydrofoil was a shipyard located in Mandal, Norway, Mandal, Norway, which has specialized in high speed craft, and pioneered many designs. The yard was established in 1961 by Toralf Westermoen, who had also started Westermoen Båtbyg ...

shipyard, the ship is a

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

in length with a capacity of about 200 passengers. Built as ''Venture 84'', the ship was in service with the French ferry operator Emeraude Lines from 1983 to 1996, serving a route between the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

and France. From 1996 to 2008, the ship was operated by Cypriot ferry operator Fergün Denizcilik as ''Fergün Express III''. , the ship is Lebanese-owned and operated as medical aid cargo ship which, in August 2010, was intended to sail to the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

to break Israel's four-year

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of Gaza.

Design and construction

The ship, built as ''Venture 84'', is a

Westamaran The Westamaran is a pioneer type of passenger transport high-speed catamaran developed by Westermoen Hydrofoil in 1973. The craft was highly successful and introduced a new era of passenger transport along the Norwegian coast and elsewhere. On t ...

W95

. The Westamaran line was designed by Herald Heinriksen of

Mandal, Norway Mandal is a town in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. Mandal is the fourth largest town in Agder as well as the administrative centre of Lindesnes municipality. It is located at the mouth of the river Mandalselva at the southern ...

. Featuring asymmetrical hulls, the Westamaran models were designed as a replacement for hydrofoils, and were considered more seaworthy in Norwegian waters and easier to operate than hydrofoils. The immediate predecessor of the W95, the W86, has been called a "breakthrough" for high-speed craft in Norway, and according to Bjørn Foss of More and Romsdal College, Westamaran catamarans "dominated the fast ferry market in Norway" for several years. Westmaran ships have seen use world-wide. The W95 has a maximum cruising speed of 28 knots, powered by two 1800 horsepower main engines that consume up to 625 litres of fuel per hour..

History

''Venture 84'' entered service as a vessel of the French ferry operator Emeraude Lines in April 1983, and was renamed ''Trident''. While Emeraude Lines would go on to operate several W95 ferries, ''Trident'' had the distinction of being the only ship the company ever bought new from the builder. The company's advertising mentioned the ship's "large air-conditioned passenger saloon with a panoramic view and bar". ''Trident'' was used mainly for the route from

Saint Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. The walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

, on a 70-minute schedule with a daytrip fare of 195 French Francs. In 1986, the ship was renamed ''Trident III'', often written ''Trident 3''. The ship continued the Channel Islands-France service until 1996 when it was purchased by ferry operator Fergün Denizcilik of

Kyrenia Kyrenia is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

, Cyprus. Renamed ''Fergün Express III'', the ship joined a ferry service that had been operating since 1986. In January 2008 the ship was withdrawn from its class at the Türk Loydu

classification society A ship classification society or ship classification organisation is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of Shipping, ships and Offshore platform, offshore structure ...

for reasons including an overdue survey. In August 2009, the ship was purchased by shipowner Ghassan El Assaad el Bakri of

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...

and renamed ''Ladi Faten''. In August 2010, it was sold to "undisclosed interests", reflagged under the Cambodian

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners Ship registration, register a Merchant vessel, merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ens ...

, and renamed ''Jounieh Star''. The ship has recently been

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

under the Bolivian and Jordanian flags.

As ''Mariam''

the ship is known as ''Mariam'' or ''St. Mariam''. It is currently a Lebanese medical aid cargo ship which, in August 2010, was intended to sail to the

to break Israel's four-year

of Gaza. It sails under the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

. The ship carries 50 women, mostly from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, but also a group of American nuns. Its actions are coordinated by Lebanese lawyer Samar al Hajj. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the women on board have all adopted the ship's name and call themselves "Mariam." Its first mission, in late August 2010, was delayed because

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

would not allow it (and its sister ship the ''Naji Alali'') to sail through its waters; because Lebanon is still officially at war with Israel, the ship cannot go to Gaza directly from Lebanon and would have to sail through a third country. Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs

Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as Ministry of Finance (Israel), Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to ...

was unequivocal in his insistence that the ''Mariam'' not reach Gaza: "Our position is absolutely clear and firm – under no conditions or provocations can any flotilla or ship harm our country's political independence and reach the Gaza Strip." , representatives of the ''Mariam'' voyage are in talks with Greece to use a Greek port for departure to Gaza.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariam 1982 ships 2010 in Palestine Merchant ships of Bolivia Ferries of Jersey Individual catamarans Ships built in Mandal, Norway