Container Ship in Red Sea: Destination is 'Not Israel'!

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
28 Dec 2023 20:46
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The ship which was formerly owned by the Israeli shipping company ZIM rushed to spare itself the ill-fate of Israeli ships and Israeli-bound ships in the Red Sea.

Panama-flagged Container Ship destination description: VL NO CONTACT ISRAEL, October 28 2023 (AP)

While passing southwards through the Red Sea a Panama-flagged container ship, XIN HE LU 1, superfluously announced on its transponders that it is not linked to the Israelis, Vessel Finder reported.

The peculiar incident was interpreted to be an anxious precautionary measure by crew members against a possible Yemeni operation.

The ship's AIS (Automatic Identifier System) indicated that the vessel had passed through the Red Sea around 24 hours ago.

While it sailed southwards through the Red Sea nearing the coasts of Yemen, the ship's transponder had comically broadcast the destination as being: "VL NO CONTACT ISRAEL" overstating the fact that it is not bound to the Israeli Occupation ports.

A screen grab from the MarineTraffic.com website showing the Ships details on December 28, 2023

The ship which was formerly owned by the Israeli shipping company ZIM, as shown in the details on Vessel Finder, rushed to spare itself the ill-fate of Israeli ships and Israeli-bound ships in the Red Sea.

Over the past month, the three-decade-old Container Ship set sail from the Taicang port in China on November 13th reaching the Suez Canal on December 5th from where it sailed to the Russian port of Novorossiysk and then back to Egypt docking in Port Said on December 23rd only to leave the second day and sail southwards through the Red Sea.

“Yemen, Yemen, make us proud! Turn another ship around," chanted Pro-Palestine protesters in #NewYork during a march for #Palestine.

The protesters called on #Yemen to continue its blockade against the Israeli occupation of the #RedSea.#US #Gaza #GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/ULzSJRS1bK
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 24, 2023

Earlier today, it was reported that major member states in the US-led anti-Yemen naval coalition are stepping back or scaling down their commitment to the alliance including France which said it will not be operating under Washington's orders and will limit its operations to protect EU vessels, and Spain, which declared it will not participate entirely.

By forming a new marine force, US President Joe Biden sought to offer a robust international reaction to Yemen's Armed Forces attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, but a week later, many allies are refusing to be affiliated with it, officially or otherwise.

Around a week has passed since the Pentagon announced the launching of Operation Prosperity Guardian, which will include contributions from 20 nations. However, it continues to be haunted by the reluctant participation of its members and uncertainty behind the operation's objectives.

The Italian military ministry stated that it will deploy a ship to the Red Sea in response to requests from Italian ship owners, rather than as part of the US operation. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have previously said that they had no interest in the operation.

After all, "Israel" has killed more than 21,000 Palestinians and some nations are not as adamant on supporting the Israeli occupation as the US may be.

David Hernandez, a professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid told Reuters that European leaders are "very worried" their voters will turn against them since the European public is becoming highly critical of Israeli actions.