Activists Continue to Hound Ship Allegedly Carrying Explosives to Israel

For more than three months global activists have been hounding the cargo ship Kathrin alleging that the ship is transporting explosives bound for Israel that would be used for weapons in Gaza. While there have been other ships accused of also transporting material for Israel, this ship has remained the subject of the advocates with the crew of the ship caught helplessly in the situation.

A German NGO calling itself the European Legal Support Center reports it has been following the situation and now filed an emergency motion on Tuesday, October 29, with the Berlin Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht Berlin) seeking to block the alleged shipment of explosives to Israel. The group describes itself as the first and only independent organization providing free legal advice and assistance to associations, human rights NGOs, groups, and individuals advocating for Palestinian rights in mainland Europe and Britain. 

The motion was filed on behalf of three Palestinians living in Gaza and seeks a “court mandate for the German government to stop the delivery of the cargo to Israel.” The group contends the Kathrin is carrying 150,000 kg (eight shipping containers) of RDX explosives bound for Israeli Military Industries, the munitions production arm of Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems. Elbit Systems they said uses the RDX explosive to manufacture weapons of war such as aerial bombs, mortars, and rockets.

Other groups including Amnesty International as well as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese have also been involved in making similar allegations and calling on governments to deny the vessel’s requests to dock in various ports. The legal group highlights that the activists have been successful in getting the ship turned away from Namibia at the end of August as well as Angola a month after it departed from Vietnam with its cargo. Once the Kathrin reached the Mediterranean, it was turned away from docking in Slovenia, Montenegro, and Malta. 

Reports appeared in the Albanian media saying the vessel docked last week at Porto Romano. The groups contend it was unloaded except for ten containers, which they believe possibly included the eight containers of RDX intended for Israel. 

The ship next traveled to Alexandria, Egypt where it arrived on Monday, October 28. Amnesty International is contending the Egyptian government permitted the she “believed to be carrying explosives bound for Israel” to dock and offload at Alexandria. Amnesty has admitted in prior statements that it was unclear how or if the cargo might reach Israel.

The activists also sought to pressure the Portuguese government, the ship’s flag state, to expel the ship from the country’s vessel registry. The legal group contends in mid-October 2024 the Portuguese government did remove its flag from the ship and says the vessel is now registered in German where it is also owned and managed.

Kathrin since it left the anchorage off Malta has been turning its AIS transmissions on and off apparently to elude the activists. The ship’s last signal was days ago in the Alexandria anchorage.

Amnesty International also used the situation to repeat its call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel and on Palestinian armed groups in Gaza due to their use of weapons to carry out war crimes and other serious violations. The NGO says that “any state that knowingly transfers arms to the parties in this ongoing conflict, including via transit of ships carrying arms and explosives, risks breaching their obligation not to encourage, aid or assist in violation of the Geneva Conventions.”

The other vessels targeted by activists have been the focus of brief demonstrations. They were able to get ships diverted from some ports but only in the case of Kathrin have the groups hounded a single ship for months.