MV Amalthea (built 1985) is a Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

n-flagged cargo ship owned by A.C.A. Shipping in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

In 2010, Amalthea was chartered by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF), a Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

n charity organization headed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

. Renamed Hope for the voyage, it left the port of Lavrio, Greece around 8 pm on 10 July 2010 carrying 2,000 tons of food, medical supplies and pre-fabricated houses. Israel requested the United Nations to prevent Libyan sponsored Gaza-bound marine vessel from "violating the existing naval blockade on the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

". The ship docked at the port of El Arish, Egypt on 14 July from where the supplies were reportedly to be taken to Gaza by road. The humanitarian aid and supplies were donated by Greek companies and charities. "We got the grapes, so why kill the vineyard guard?" Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, GICDF chairman, explained the agreement of Libya to transfer fifty million US dollars through UNRWA for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

. According to reports the deal was brokered by Martin Schlaff

Martin Schlaff

Martin Schlaff is an Austrian entrepreneur who was occupied in trade with East Germany before the German reunification. According to the German parliament's investigations, Schlaff was an unofficial employee of the Stasi...

, who is thought to have close ties to leaders in both Israel and Libya.