Namibia blocks docking of ship carrying explosive material to 'Israel'
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Namibian justice minister says the ship was transporting explosive material to "Israel" and thus prohibited from entering Namibian waters.
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A demonstrator holding a placard demanding an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza during a pro-Palestine protest in Rome, Italy in February 2024 (AFP)
Namibian authorities blocked a vessel transporting military cargo to "Israel" from docking in the country amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which is now nearing a few weeks away from its one-year mark.
Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab confirmed to the state-run New Era news website that the ship, identified as the MV Kathrin, was halted due to its cargo of "explosive material destined for Israel."
Read more: Namibia urges NAM unity to demand end to Israeli genocide in Gaza
Dausab added that the ship was stopped in accordance with Namibia's support for the Palestinian people and the country’s call for an end to the war on Gaza.
Citing a police investigation, she said MV Kathrin was "indeed carrying explosive material destined for Israel, and was therefore prohibited from entering Namibian water."
“Namibia complies with our obligation not to support or be complicit in Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, as well as its unlawful occupation of Palestine."
The ship, which departed from Vietnam, had requested permission to dock at the port of Walvis Bay before continuing its journey north, possibly toward the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar.
Rights groups had previously warned that allowing the vessel to dock could implicate Namibia in potential Israeli human rights violations. The reasons for the ship's docking request remain unclear, but such vessels typically stop for supplies, rest, or to transfer cargo.
Namibian human rights organization the Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT) praised the decision.
"We are pleased that our government has decided to respect international law and decided not to be complicit to genocide," ESJT chairperson Herbert Jauch told the BBC.
The ESJT had urged last week in an open letter to the National Port Authority in Namibia to refuse entry to MV Kathrin.
The letter, also sent to Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Peya Mushelenga, references a similar incident in July, where the MV Nordic allegedly transported military supplies from India to "Israel" through the same port.
Jauch warned in the letter that "by allowing a ship carrying ammunition and equipment that will possibly be used in the commission of genocide, to dock at any Namibian harbor, Namport may be making itself and the country complicit to genocide."
In January, the late Namibian President Hage Geingob condemned the decision of the country's former colonial ruler, Germany, to reject accusations against "Israel" by South Africa of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Namibia "rejects Germany's support of the genocidal intent of the racist Israeli state," the presidency said in a statement.
