The ship was intercepted and impounded by Israeli forces last month. Now the owners want it back, and captain Mika Jämiä told the Turku daily that they have sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finland’s Transport Safety Agency Trafi for assistance in getting the boat returned.
Risto Piipponen, head of the ministry’s Africa and the Middle East department, confirmed to the newspaper that his department had received such a request, and that ministry officials will now make contact with their Israeli counterparts and request that the ship is returned.
He added that the main responsibility remained with the boat’s owners, however.
According to Turun Sanomat, the vessel’s owners have also requested help from Sweden. Jämiä suggested that Sweden had declined to get involved as the ship is owned by Finns.
