A/HRC/15/21 111. The crew and passengers of the six vessels became visually aware of the presence of Israeli naval vessels some time after the initial communications, between 2300 hours and midnight, both through sightings and two-way radio communication between the vessels. The larger Israeli ships and helicopters came into view of the crew of the vessels at approximately 0100 hours on 31 May. Similar sightings were made by other vessels in the flotilla at around the same time. (b) Events on board the M.V. Mavi Marmara67 (i) Initial attempt to board the Mavi Marmara from the sea 112. Israeli zodiac boats made a first attempt to board the Mavi Marmara from the sea shortly before 0430 hours. Several zodiac boats approached the ship at the stern from both the port and starboard sides. The approach was accompanied by the firing of non-lethal weaponry onto the ship, including smoke and stun grenades, tear-gas and paintballs. Plastic bullets may also have been used at this stage: however, despite some claims that live ammunition was also fired from the zodiac boats, the Mission is not satisfied that this was the case. The smoke and tear gas were not effective due to the strong sea breeze and later due to the downdraft from helicopters. 113. The Israeli forces attempted to board the ship through attaching ladders to the hull. Passengers engaged in efforts to repel the attempted boarding using the ship’s water hoses68 and the throwing of various items at the boats including chairs, sticks, a box of plates and other objects that were readily to hand. This initial attempt to board the ship proved unsuccessful. It is the view of the Mission that the Israeli forces should have re-evaluated their plans when it became obvious that putting their soldiers on board the ship may lead to civilian casualties. (ii) Landing of soldiers from helicopters onto the Mavi Marmara 114. Just minutes after soldiers from the zodiac boats had made initial unsuccessful attempts to board, the first helicopter approached the ship at approximately 0430 hours, hovering above the top deck. At this point between 10 and 20 passengers were located in the central area of the top deck, although this number increased as other passengers learned of events on the top deck. The Israeli forces used smoke and stun grenades in an attempt to clear an area for the landing of soldiers. The first rope that was let down from the helicopter was taken by passengers and tied it to a part of the top deck and thereby rendered ineffective for the purpose of soldiers’ descent. A second rope was then let down from the 67 68 For the purposes of this report, the following terms are used to describe the various decks of the Mavi Marmara: top deck – the roof of the ship where the satellite tower and funnel are located, bridge deck – the deck below the top deck which gives access to the bridge, bow deck – lowest open deck with access to the front of the ship. live television broadcasts were made from an open deck area at the back of the bridge deck. It is worth noting that in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s circular “Guidance to ship owners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships” of June 2009, the use of water hoses is recommended as a means to prevent an attempted boarding by pirates and armed robbers. IMO Circular Msc.1/Circ.1334, date 23 June 2009, Annex, para. 57 states as follows: “The use of water hoses should also be considered though they may be difficult to train if evasive manoeuvring is also taking place. Water pressures of 80 lb per square inch and above have deterred and repulsed attackers. Not only does the attacker have to fight against the jet of water but the flow may swamp his/her boat and damage engines and electrical systems. Special fittings for training hoses could be considered which would also provide protection for the hose operator. A number of spare fire hoses could be rigged and tied down to be pressurized at short notice if a potential attack is detected”. 25