New Delhi: Spain has announced that it has denied docking permission to a Denmark-flagged cargo ship reportedly carrying 26.8 tonnes of explosives from India, destined for Israel.
The Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters in Brussels that they had refused to give permission to ‘Marianne Danica’, which was had sought permit to dock at Cartagena on May 21.
“This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port. The Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace,” said Albares.
Spain has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military invasion of Gaza in Europe, which has largely divided over the Gaza operations. Madrid had been one of the co-sponsors of the UN General Assembly resolution which called for Palestine to be granted full membership of the United Nations.
According to marine tracking website Vessel Finder, Marianne Danica left Chennai on April 8, travelled across the African continent and arrived at the West African port of Cape Verde on May 13. It is currently off the coast of Morocco and is scheduled to arrive at Cartagena on May 21.
The El Pais newspaper also reported that ship was carrying a cargo of 26.8 tonnes of explosive material. The sender, as per the records obtained by El Pais, is India’s Siddharta Logistics Co and its recipient is Israel Cargo Logistics (ICL).
The long route of the ship, which goes around the African continent, is presumably to avoid the Red Sea, where the Houthis have been targeting marine traffic bound for Israel.
The Spanish government’s announcement comes amid political controversy over a Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship ‘Borkum’, which pro-Palestinian groups claimed was also carrying weapons for Israel from India. As per marine records, it had been anchored in Cartagena for 11 hours on May 16, before departing for Slovenia’s Koper port.
The Spanish transport minister Oscar Puente had posted on X on May 16 that Borkum, which had already docked in Las Palmas port in Spain, was not bringing weapons to Israel, but was travelling towards Czech Republic. He claimed that campaign groups and the political opposition had mistaken it for another ship, Marianne Danica, which has been denied a stopover by the Spanish foreign ministry.
The El Pais had earlier reported that as per documents obtained by pro-Palestinian group and seen by the newspaper, the final destination was not Slovenia, but the Israeli port of “Ashdod or Haifa, Israel”. Ashdod port is around 30 kilometres from Gaza.
The document mentions the Slovenian port in a handwriting, stating, “Koper (for Ashdod).
According to an open letter from MEPs to the Spanish president, the company named in the documentation is IMI systems, which is owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm.
The leaked documentation, as per El Pais, has a confidentiality clause which forbids crew and employees involved in the transportation from mentioning Israel or IMI Systems.
It also stated that the transit document lists Borkum’s cargo as 20 tonnes of rocket engines (UN code class 1.3C 186), 12.5 tons of rockets with explosive charges (code 181), 1,500 kg of explosive substances (477), and 740 kg of charges, propellants for cannons (242). It cites an Indian company based in Pune as the origin.
As per the Spanish newspaper, large shipping companies, such as the Danish Maersk, maintain direct maritime routes between Slovenia and Israel.
The Wire had earlier reported that Indian government’s Munitions India Ltd had exported ammunition to Israel, as per official records. It had also applied on April 18, 2024, the company for again exporting the same order to Israel.
A private company, Premier Explosives Ltd. (PEL), had been permitted to export explosives and allied accessories twice since Israel’s war on Gaza began last year – on November 20, 2023, and January 01, 2024.
Last month, India had abstained on a vote in the UN human rights council which called for an arms embargo on Israel and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
