The legendary M/S Alpo embarks on a symbolic mission to support Ukraine in honour of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy operation
This weekend, the legendary World War II tugboat M/S Alpo set sail from the Finnish city of Oulu to sail the landmark route and dock in Le Havre, France, on 5 June, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. The so-called ‘D-Day’ of 6 June 1944 was a decisive moment in the course of World War II and marked the beginning of a new post-war world order and the liberation of Europe.
The organisers of the trip and the owners of M/S Alpo, Finnish businessmen Jukka Juola, Markku Kankaala and Martti Haapala, aim to draw attention to the full-scale war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine and draw inevitable historical parallels. Over the past three years, Finnish entrepreneurs have been repairing and preparing the ship for the voyage, as well as training the crew of 15 specialists who will be replacing each other. The organisers also call on other enthusiastic ship owners to join the convoy in support of Ukraine.
The convoy led by M/S Alpo will also carry out a charity mission. During the month-long voyage, the ships will stop in a total of 19 ports in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and the organisers will hold events to raise funds to support Ukraine's defence.
To do this, the organisers of the historic M/S Alpo convoy joined the Safe Skies appeal launched by UNITED24 Ambassador and Yale history professor Timothy Snyder. All the money raised during the symbolic journey will be used to purchase situational awareness sensors for the Ukrainian Air Force.
‘Russia is constantly shelling civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. By working together, we can create a 'Safe Sky' for the whole of Ukraine and protect both infrastructure and civilians from terrorist attacks,’ commented Timothy Snyder.
‘Our team is a group of Finnish entrepreneurs looking for new ways to support Ukraine. We plan to form a large squadron and hope that hundreds of ships will follow M/S Alpo. Of course, the most important goal for us is to raise donations to support Ukraine, which is now fighting for its freedom. The same thing happened in Normandy 80 years ago,’ said Martti Haapala from Toppilan Möljä, a shipping company.
You can support the mission with donations through the UNITED24 fundraising platform website by following the link or by making a corporate contribution using the details provided at the end.
The initiative's website: https://www.dday-alpo.com/
Initiative's social media pages:
https://www.instagram.com/d_day_alpo/
https://www.facebook.com/ddayalpo80
