A German vessel, reportedly carrying military-grade explosives for Israel, has run into a controversy after human rights lawyers filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block it from delivering the cargo to Israel's defence contractor Elbit Systems. MV Kathrin allegedly carries a 150-metric-ton shipment to be delivered to Israel’s biggest defence contractor.
LSEG data and vessel-tracking website Marine Traffic showed the vessel is docked in Egypt’s port at Alexandria on Monday. However, Germany-based Lubeca Marine, which owns the vessel, said the ship was never scheduled to make any port calls in Israel and had recently discharged its cargo in Bar, Montenegro.
The plea was filed by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) on Wednesday on behalf of three Palestinians from Gaza. It argued that the shipment of primarily RDX explosives would be used in munitions for Israeli weapons to be used in Gaza. The explosives will be used to manufacture weapons, such as bombs, mortars, and rockets.
Though the ship is said to be in Egypt's Alexandria, it wasn't a smooth sail as Namibia denied it port access after discovering its military cargo in August. It also tried in vain to dock at various African and Mediterranean ports. In October, Portugal revoked the vessel’s flag forcing it to reflag in Germany, according to ELSC.
However, after reports surfaced that the ship was in Egypt now, the country's army issued a statement stating the reports were untrue. It denied allegations that it assisted Israeli military operations. "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.
Many human rights organisations have now rallied against the shipment reaching Israel. "The deadly cargo believed to be on board the MV Kathrin must not reach Israel as there is a clear risk that such cargo would contribute to the commission of war crimes against Palestinian civilians," said Nataša Posel, head of Amnesty International Slovenia.
Now that it has run into legal troubles, the fate of the vessel and its controversial cargo remains uncertain.