A ship carrying 16 people and humanitarian aid to Gaza was rocked by explosions early Friday off the coast of Malta, setting the vessel on fire and putting it at risk of sinking, according to the human rights group operating the ship.
The ship and its crew were safe after a tugboat helped extinguish the blaze following a mayday call, the government of Malta said in a statement. It did not say what had caused the fire, adding that the authorities were monitoring the ship, which was in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship, called Conscience and operated by a group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Tunisia earlier this week carrying human rights activists and aid. The group has sought to challenge Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza by trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the territory by sea.
Before going to Gaza, the ship was scheduled to stop in Malta and pick up about 40 more people, including the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, said Yasemin Acar, a spokeswoman for the group.
The source of the explosion has not been determined, and it was not known whether the ship had been deliberately targeted.
In a statement, the group suggested an Israeli drone strike was responsible for the explosion, but it did not provide evidence.
Two experts consulted by The Times were unable to conclusively determine if a drone had struck the ship based on a review of images of damage to the vessel.
Crew members on the ship near Malta said they believed they had been hit by a drone attack, the coalition said. At around 12:20 a.m. local time, armed drones fired at the front of the ship, the coalition said in a statement.
That set off a fire, caused a substantial breach in the hull and broke the generator on board, leaving the crew without power. Parts of the group’s account could not be independently confirmed.
Video provided by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition appears to show a fire on the ship’s deck as an alarm rings out. Security footage recorded after the reported time of the fire shows people on the ship assessing the damage as a man holds a fire extinguisher.
The authorities in Malta said they received a mayday call from a passenger vessel of the same name at around 12:20 a.m., reporting a fire on the bow. No casualties were reported, the Maltese government said. It was unclear on Friday morning whether the damaged ship would be allowed to dock in Malta.
A nearby tug vessel with firefighting equipment helped to bring the fire under control by 1:30 a.m., according to Malta’s statement. Less than an hour later, the crew were confirmed to be safe.
Ann Wright, another spokeswoman for the group, said that the crew had stayed aboard instead of evacuating to keep watch over the disabled ship.
The group has asked the crew to pick up the debris from the explosions so that it could undergo forensic examination, which would help determine whether a weapon had been used, Ms. Wright said.
It was not clear who was responsible for the explosions on the flotilla near Malta on Friday. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli military has blocked past attempts by pro-Palestinian activists to bring aid to Gaza by sea, including by force. In 2010, nine passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara, a flotilla carrying aid from Turkey to Gaza, were killed in an Israeli commando raid, sparking international outrage and a deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has more than a dozen members, including I.H.H., a Turkish relief group, the group’s website said. At least four of the nine people killed in 2010 were members of I.H.H., according to the findings of an Israeli investigation into the event. I.H.H. has been a virulent critic of the blockade on Gaza and the devastation caused by Israel’s military campaign in the territory.
Since early March after a limited cease-fire ended, Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, leaving many people in Gaza struggling to access food. Israeli officials have said the restrictions seek to compel Hamas to release hostages held by the militant group, but members of the humanitarian community have said the blockade is imperiling innocent civilians.
There were 12 crew members and four civilian passengers on board the ship, according to the Maltese government and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition called on the international community to condemn the attack.
“Attacking international human rights activists in international waters is a war crime,” Ms. Acar said.
Jiawei Wang, Sanjana Varghese, and Adam Rasgon contributed reporting to this article.
