Request described by official source as “irreversible”
At literally the 11th hour, news of the Portuguese-flagged ship carrying explosive material bound for an Israeli weapons manufacturer: it has asked for its registration in Madeira to be cancelled.
This means the MV Kathrin will not be flying the Portuguese flag when it docks with its cargo in Montenegro – scheduled for Thursday.
According to an official source, the request by the company that owns the vessel “follows the endeavours and requests for clarification” made by the Portuguese government, which “has been evaluating the situation and consulting with the shipowner”.
The source also said the government had to act “very discreetly at all times”.
As previous reports have explained, the “Kathrin” is German-owned, registered in Madeira, and carrying explosive material destined for arms manufacturers in Israel, Poland and Slovakia.
The same source said that the shipowner has been answering the Portuguese government’s questions, allowing it to “update and improve” the information about the material the ship was carrying.
This process will now take “two or three days”, but until the flag changes, the ship cannot enter any port and will have to remain offshore.
“It won’t be sailing under the Portuguese flag. This issue is over,” the source concluded.
MV Kathrin has been sailing from Vietnam for weeks, and was prevented from docking in Namibia and Angola.
Portugal’s minister of state and foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, is due to be heard in October by the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities on this case. The Left Bloc requested this, and it has also asked the Public Prosecutor’s Office to “supervise and prevent Portugal from being accused internationally of complicity in genocide.”
Last week, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, called on the government to “urgently” request the removal of the Portuguese flag from the ship “Kathrin”.
“After recognising the plausibility of genocide in Gaza in January 2024, the ICJ (International Court of Justice) made it clear that all states must “respect and enforce” the Genocide Convention “in all circumstances”, and that states have “international obligations regarding the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict”,” said the UN rapporteur.
According to Albanese, the imposition of an arms embargo on Israel, “which continues to commit acts of genocide in Gaza”, is “one of these legal obligations”.
And according to Press TV (a UK based site) this effort to #BlockTheBoat became a “global mobilisation” in a display of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Efforts began long before Israel began its invasion of Lebanon.
Source material: LUSA
