For the first time A ship carrying humanitarian aid leaves Cyprus for Gaza

(CNN) - A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza departed from the port city of Larnaca in Cyprus, according to a World Central Kitchen (WCK)which said it would conduct the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The organization said in a statement, Tuesday: "After weeks of preparation, our team in Cyprus has loaded nearly 200 tons of food onto the Open Arms boat that will provide much-needed aid to the people of Gaza," adding that this is in partnership with the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and the Spanish Open Arms in this mission. 

This comes as Cyprus, the European Commission, the United States, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are working to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza. The ship is normally used for search-and-rescue missions by the non-governmental organization Open Arms. In order to transfer aid from the ship to land, a temporary dock will be built at an undisclosed location in Gaza, although the exact details of these efforts are unclear.

On Sunday, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres said on X that "the jetty will be built with materials and infrastructure inside Gaza! With the help of boats and amphibious vehicles and Open Arms will be our logistics provider and leader in the water." 

The ship will be loaded with food aid, including rice, flour, beans, lentils and canned meat. 

World Central Kitchen says it has served more than 35 million meals in Gaza since October and has nearly 400 local employees there. 

The ship set sail at 8:45 a.m. local time in Cyprus.