A ship carrying 27 tonnes of explosive cargo from Chennai, India, to Haifa, Israel, attempted to dock at a port in Spain but was refused permission to enter. Spain has declared that any vessel carrying weapons to Israel will not be allowed to dock in its ports. According to AFP, while Albares did not disclose specifics about the ship, Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that the Marianne Danica, flying a Danish flag, requested to dock at Cartagena on May 21 but was carrying explosives.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares informed reporters in Brussels, according to AFP, that this marked the first occasion they identified a vessel transporting weapons to Israel and sought to dock at a Spanish port.
“This policy will uniformly apply to any vessel transporting arms to Israel that seeks to dock at Spanish ports. The foreign ministry will continually deny such requests for a clear reason: the Middle East requires less armament and more tranquility,” the news agency quoted him as saying.
According to The Guardian, Spain’s announcement occurs during a conflict between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party and their coalition partners, the left-wing Sumar alliance, concerning another vessel, the Borkum, which is set to arrive in Cartagena on Friday. Pro-Palestinian groups claim that the Borkum is transporting weapons to Israel, leading Sumar to insist that it be denied entry. Nonetheless, the transport minister asserted that the ship is actually conveying military supplies to the Czech Republic, not Israel.
