Bloco de Esquerda files petition to remove Portuguese flag from ship carrying explosives

The Left Bloc filed a petition to remove the Portuguese flag from the ship carrying explosives to Slovenia and Montenegro and to return the cargo to its point of origin.

On Wednesday, the party questioned the government about the suspicion that a Portuguese-flagged ship was transporting weapons to Israel, and following the complaint, the foreign minister clarified the next day that the ship carrying the explosives was Portuguese-flagged but German and “does not travel to Israel.”

Following this response, BE filed a petition asking the Portuguese government to “remove the Portuguese flag from this ship, cancel its registration in the Madeira International Registry” and “require its return to its original state.” [Vietnam] of the criminal cargo on the ship “Catherine”, claiming that this “transportation is illegal under Portuguese law”.

“The cargo ship Katrin is registered in the International Shipping Registry of Madeira, which makes Portugal complicit in the atrocities and crimes of the Israeli occupation,” the party said, adding that it is suspected that the cargo will be unloaded in Slovenia but destined for Israel.

BE says the Namibian government has prevented the cargo ship from entering the country’s ports and that “Namibian authorities have reported that the ship is carrying eight containers of RDX/RDX explosives and 60 containers of TNT, which are due to be unloaded in Koper, Slovenia, and is bound for Israel.”

“RDX is a key component of Israeli bombs and rockets that have killed and maimed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. To date, about half of these victims have been children,” the petition says.

With this petition, which they say has already collected “more than a thousand signatures in the first few hours,” the blockade makers also ask the executive power to “prevent and prevent forms of active or negligent complicity in war crimes and genocide by ships flying the Portuguese flag, by taking immediate action in this regard.”

This week, the Left Bloc and the PCP, through the Assembly of the Republic, questioned the Minister of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs over suspicions that a ship flying the Portuguese flag was transporting weapons to Israel.

Both sides want the government to ensure that no Portuguese-flagged ship can be involved in transporting any military material to Israel, and are asking the government what measures will be taken to monitor a suspicious ship.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels as part of a ministerial meeting, the foreign minister said the government had contacted the ship to ask for clarification and said it could guarantee that the vessel was “not heading to Israel” and was destined for two ports in Slovenia and Montenegro.

“It contains explosives, not weapons,” the official said, adding that “everything was properly communicated, the contents and the purpose,” and all information provided was “accompanied by documentation.”