Cargo Ship Turned Away by Namibia Over Fears of Explosives for Israel

The African nation of Namibia revoked the docking privileges granted to a Portuguese-flagged general cargo ship. It was the second vessel that officials suspected of transporting materials to Israel with government officials saying their country would not be complicit with the war in Gaza.

A local rights group called the Economic and Social Justice Trust was campaigning with government officials to refuse the vessels. It is unclear how or why they targeted these individual ships for their campaign, but they were successful in gaining the attention of government officials.

The cargo ship named Kathrin is reported to have departed the port of Hai Phong in Vietnam in late July and made a transit stop in Singapore. The ship requested late last week port privileges for a stop in Walvis Bay, Namibia’s largest commercial port and one of the main ports in Southern Africa. The vessel which is 8,000 dwt is operated by a company based in Germany.

Port officials told the local media it was unclear why the vessel wanted to dock in Namibia, but speculation centered on a replenishing call or possibly for the crew after the long voyage across the Indian Ocean. Port officials initially said they had not received proper pre-clearance documentation required for the port visit.

The chairperson and chief executive of Namport became involved expressing their concerns that the vessel might be carrying cargo for use in the Israel-Gaza war. They confirmed that the Kathrin was the second vessel to be called into question with a ship they identified as Nordic having passed through but not stopped in Namibia in July. It was also suspected of carrying supplies, possibly fuel, to Israel.

“Upon receiving reports that a vessel might be carrying weapons intended for Israel, I addressed a letter to the cabinet, international relations ministry, work ministry, as well as the safety and security ministry,” said Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab. The minister writes that she requested the relevant authorities not allow the vessel mv Kathrin to dock at the Walvis Bay port.

Port officials highlighted that a vessel must declare when it is loaded with dangerous cargo. However, they said the ship and its operator had no legal requirement to name the owner of the cargo.

The Namibian Police Force also got involved with unconfirmed reports saying they determined the vessel was loaded with 60 containers of the explosive TNT as well as eight containers of other explosives. The report says the vessel’s declared destination is Koper, Slovenia. Citing a cabinet decision, the police said the permission to dock which had been granted on August 13 had been revoked. 

A similar situation took place in Spain in May when activists targeted another cargo ship with accusations. Spain’s Transport Minister asserted however the vessel was carrying arms for the Czech Republic and bound for Slovenia. Spain however days later denied a Danish-owned vessel port privileges over further charges it was transporting arms to Israel.