The Spanish vessel, Open Arms, is expected to set sail this weekend, bound for Gaza to carry humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians at risk of starvation.

The ship is scheduled to depart from Cyprus, the EU’s closest country to Gaza, and is set to use a new shipping route.

With no port operation, as well as shallow waters, it makes its task difficult as it is not yet clear where it will dock when it reaches Gaza. The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s population is on the brink of starvation and children are dying of starvation.

The ship, where is expected to arrive in Gaza in the coming daysbelongs to the Spanish charity of the same name Open Arms.

It will tow a barge loaded with 200 tons of food provided by the American charity World Central Kitchen, Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press.

The ship is expected to leave the Cyprus port of Larnaca this weekend and will take about two to three days to reach an undisclosed location off the coast of Gaza, Camps told the news agency.

He added that the last mile of the journey, which it is about 216 nautical miles in totalwill be “the most complicated business,” but added that he was “not at all concerned with security.”

At the destination point, a team from World Central Kitchen built a jetty to receive the aid, he said. The group has 60 kitchens across Gaza where it will be able to distribute the food.

“What initially seemed like an insurmountable challenge is now on the verge of being realized,” he writes in a post on Open Arms’ X account.

“Our tugboat is ready to sail immediately, loaded with tons of food, water and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians.”

The World Central Kitchen he said he had been preparing for the trip for weeks, waiting for the shipping route to open.

The sea corridor was announced by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday while in Cyprus and comes a day after President Joe Biden announced that the US plans to build a temporary floating jetty on the Gaza coastline.

The Pentagon later said it would take up to 60 days to complete and take about 1,000 troops to build with none of them going on land.

The port will be able to accommodate large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters, US officials said. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place.

A Pentagon spokesman said the pier could help deliver up to 2 million meals each day.