Namibia Blocks Entry Of Cargo Ship Loaded With Explosives Bound For Israel
Namibian authorities have blocked a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, the MV Katrin, from docking at Walvis Bay, the country’s largest commercial port, on suspicion of transporting military supplies to Israel.
Namibian Justice Minister Yvonne Dausup said the ship could not dock because it was carrying “explosives bound for Israel.” The Katrin, which left Vietnam in late July and stopped in Singapore, had applied to drop anchor in Walvis Bay before heading north through the Strait of Gibraltar toward the Mediterranean.
Dausab said Namibia’s action was in line with its opposition to Israel’s “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” in Gaza. The country also called for an end to violence in the region.
The Namibian police force said the ship was carrying 60 containers of TNT and eight other explosives, and its designated destination was Slovenia. The ship’s permission to dock on August 13 was later revoked.
Local human rights group Economic and Social Justice (ESJT) praised the Namibian government’s decision to respect international law and not participate in genocide.
Namibian Port Authority Namport reported that it had not received the documents required for the MV Katrin’s pre-clearance. Although Namport did not make any official comment on the incident, it pledged to protect its territorial waters and ports. He also revealed that another ship carrying dangerous goods could pass through Namibian waters without docking.
The blockade follows a recent case filed by Namibia’s neighbour South Africa at the International Court of Justice, which accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, an accusation that Israel denied as false. Namibia’s action is in line with its overall support for the Palestinian cause and its call for an immediate end to the destruction of Gaza.
This is the second time in recent months that Namibian authorities have refused to issue a docking permit to a ship suspected of transporting supplies for the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Another ship, the Nordic, suspected of transporting supplies to Israel, was allowed to pass through Namibian waters without docking in July.
The Gaza conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, the Israeli military began a counter-offensive against Hamas, and the Hamas Ministry of Health reported that about 40,430 people have died in Gaza since then.
The Catherine is the latest ship to be attacked by protesters amid international scrutiny of the transport of military supplies to the conflict zone.
A similar incident occurred in Spain in May when protesters accused a cargo ship of transporting weapons to Israel. However, Spanish authorities later confirmed that the ship’s cargo was destined for the Czech Republic.
