A German-flagged shipping vessel, carrying explosive material destined for Israel, has reportedly docked in Egypt after being refused permission by several other ports along its route.
According to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic, the ship docked in the port of Alexandria on Monday, having left Hai Phong, Vietnam, in July.
The Egyptian Maritime Consultant Office (EMCO) was responsible for receiving the vessel and handling the containers marked as “military cargo,” the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement said, citing the Alexandria Port website.
#BlockTheBoat: The arms ship MV Kathrin reappears in the port of Alexandria, Egypt.
Is Egypt helping to transfer crucial military explosives to Israel’s genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza? pic.twitter.com/FdTATjQ2sw
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) October 30, 2024
“EMCO also oversaw the departure of another vessel on the same day headed for Ashdod Port, raising questions about the connection between this Egyptian company and the operators of the explosives-laden ship,” BDS said in a statement.
“Is Egypt helping to transfer crucial military explosives to Israel’s genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza?” the movement stated.
The news comes amid the filing of a case in a German court on Wednesday requesting that the court mandate the German government to stop the delivery of “150,000 kg (8 shipping containers) of RDX explosives bound for Israeli Military Industries, the munitions production arm of Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems.”
On Thursday, Egypt denied assisting Israeli military operations following media reports that the Alexandria port had received a shipment of explosives bound for an Israeli defense contractor.
“The Egyptian Armed Forces categorically deny what has been circulated on social media and suspicious accounts and what is being promoted about assisting Israel in its military operations in general and in detail,” the army said in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.
Portuguese to German Flag
The MV Kathrin, initially journeying under a Portuguese flag, had been sailing for over two months, and was shunned by ports in Africa and Europe, the movement said, including Angola, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Malta.
This followed Namibian authorities’ discovery that the vessel was transporting the explosives.
‘International Law Obligations’ – Namibia Blocks Ship Carrying ‘Explosive Material’ to Israel
Yvonne Dausab, Namibia’s Justice Minister, said the decision was made in August to block the vessel from docking at its Walvis Bay port as it had an obligation under international law, specifically the Genocide Convention, “but also as articulated in the recent advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”
Dausab pointed out that the decision “complies with our obligation not to support or be complicit in Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, as well as its unlawful occupation of Palestine.”
The Portuguese government eventually revoked its flag from the MV Kathrin, and the ship continued its journey under a German flag.
‘A Week Off Radar’
According to the BDS movement, the vessel navigated for “over a week off radar,” until journalists spotted her in Porto Romano, Albania, “still carrying what seemed to include the eight containers” of questionable cargo.
“On 28 October, the vessel reappeared docking and unloading on the military berth of the port of Alexandria,” BDS said.
According to the Alexandria Port website, the Egyptian Maritime Consultant Office (EMCO) was responsible for receiving the Kathrin and handling the containers marked as “military cargo”.
EMCO also oversaw the departure of another vessel on the same day headed for Ashdod Port,… pic.twitter.com/I2KsT7qGgo
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) October 30, 2024
“Involvement in any operations aiding Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, especially the transfer of military supplies, contradicts Egypt’s official stance, the overwhelming popular consensus, and potentially exposes Egypt to direct legal accountability,” the movement warned.
BDS said Egyptian authorities “have the duty under international law to ensure they do not reach their destination. Anything else amounts to complicity in genocide.”
German Court Case
On Wednesday, the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) filed an emergency motion in the Berlin Administrative Court, requesting that the court mandate the German government to stop the delivery of the cargo aboard the MV Kathrin.
Human rights lawyers have filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives aboard German cargo ship MV Kathrin which they say is to be delivered to Israel’s biggest military contractor. pic.twitter.com/Ia2A2L3VY0
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) November 1, 2024
Berlin-based lawyer Ahmed Abed, part of the ELSC’s network of lawyers in Germany, filed the urgent appeal on behalf of three Palestinians in Gaza, asking the German government to protect their right to life, the ELSC said in a press statement.
It explained that the RDX explosives were bound for Israeli Military Industries, the munitions production arm of Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems.
“Elbit Systems uses the RDX explosive to manufacture weapons of war such as aerial bombs, mortars and rockets, which are used in violation of international law to commit crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes in the Gaza Strip,” ELSC stated. “The petitioners demand that the delivery be stopped and that action be taken against the owner and the manager of the ship.”
‘Systematic War Crimes’
Abed emphasized that ‘Germany is obliged to take action against the German freighter MV Kathrin because the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law require active intervention.”
He said the ICJ and the Chief Investigator of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, have provided detailed evidence that “Israel is committing not only systematic war crimes but also crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.”
I understand Vessel #Kathrin, carrying weapons destined to Israel, has either arrived or is due to arrive very soon in #Malta. I implore the #Malta government, who has regularly taken a principled stand on Palestine, to act and stop the vessel from advancing.
At the time Israel…
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 7, 2024
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, and Amnesty International have called for the MV Kathrin’s shipment of RDX explosives to be stopped, underlining obligations under the Genocide Convention and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
“At the time Israel is committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians (risk recognised by the ICJ in January 2024), States are under an obligation “to respect and to ensure respect” for the Genocide Convention “in all circumstances”. This includes not to transfer arms to parties to an armed conflict,” Albanese said in a statement on X.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
