Ship With Weapons For Israel Refused By Spain Stopped In Cape Verde

"The ship Marianne Danica, flying the Danish flag (Member State of the European Union), docked in Porto Grande on May 13th at 7:00 am (9:00 am in Lisbon), for the purpose of refueling, leaving at 3:00 pm (5:00 pm in Lisbon) of the same day", reads a clarification from the Cape Verde Ports Company (Enapor).

Documentation indicated that the ship came from Chennai, India, and was destined for Cartagena, Spain, and there was "no official data, information or references" to Israel, she added.

Likewise, the ship was not "under sanctions or any other restriction or measure of international prohibition or interdiction that could justify the refusal to supply fuel" and Enapor said it was "in compliance with international standards and in close collaboration with all players in the sector, particularly at an international level".

"The commercial relationship of providing fuel supply services to the companies that own the ships in no way translates into any facilitation or support for the resurgence of the conflict", he concluded, in an allusion to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza strip, in response to Hamas.

The ship's stop in Cape Verde was first mentioned by the weekly newspaper A Nação, following complaints from non-governmental organizations based in Europe.

Three days after resupplying in Cape Verde, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced the country's refusal to accept the ship's stopover in Cartagena.

"Our policy is not to grant new export licenses for war material destined for Israel and this decision we took to reject the call [of the ship Marianne Danica é] is coherent and follows the same line", the government official told the EFE agency.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will "systematically reject" all calls for ships with those characteristics, Albares said, adding that Spain's recognition of the Palestinian state will be in line with promoting "definitive peace" in the region.

In the same response to the newspaper A Nação, Enapor reported that another boat indicated by several organizations as carrying weapons for Israel, the Vertom Odette, flying the Luxembourg flag, also made a stop to supply in Porto Grande, on May 28, justifying it. o with the same explanations - in this case, the vessel was sailing from Luanda (Angola) to Cartagena.

The Vertom Odete would end up changing its route before approaching Spain and taking any necessary steps.