This Monday, this medium has had access to new data on the military material in the cargo of the Maersk Denver and Maersk Seletar ships transported throughout these months. The arrival of both vessels to the port of Algeciras was blocked in recent days by the Spanish Government, after an investigation published by elDiario.es that warned of their cargo.
The stops of the two ships in Algeciras were scheduled for the 9th and 14th or 15th of this month. This was revealed by an investigation by Progressive International and the Palestinian Youth Movement, which shows how between May and September of this year, 1,185 shipments of military supplies for Israel passed through the Spanish port, despite the suspension announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José María Albares, in the month of May, when she assured that “she would not allow” this type of traffic.
After the publication of this information last week, the Spanish Government diverted the route of the Maersk Denver, which ended up docking in Tangier, Morocco, this Saturday. The second ship mentioned, the Maersk Seletar, is heading from the United States to the Mediterranean, with an initial stopover plan in Algeciras for November 14. This Monday at the last minute it diverted its route towards Morocco.
An official source from the Spanish Foreign Ministry told this media last Thursday that “no ship carrying military material to Israel will be authorized to stop in Spain.”
Both ships have transferred military equipment, military vehicles – or parts thereof, projectile bodies and others from the US to Spain on several trips this year.
For its part, the shipping company Maersk – a Danish conglomerate – has issued a statement confirming the routine nature of that route and the existence of cargo on it related “to the Army, destined for or originating in Israel.”
In that statement, the company points out that it has consulted the Spanish authorities to understand why “the entry of cargoes similar to previous shipments” that “routinely” stopped in Algeciras has been denied. It also says it has “understood that Spain has changed its criteria.” and now rejects ships that transport anything related to the Army to or from Israel, even though said cargo is legal.”
The Maersk shipping company confirms the ‘routine’ nature of this route through Spain and the existence of cargo on it related ‘to the Army, with destination or origin in Israel’
The loading of the Maersk Seletar
The data to which researchers from Progressive International and Palestinian Youth Movement have had access include several military shipments made from the United States on the Maersk Seletar, on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, between November 2023 and July 30, this year, in four journeys, three of them this year.
Among this cargo that stopped in Algeciras are armored plates, projectile bodies, “miscellaneous”, “no description” products, Oshkosh of three types -JLTV, FMTV and HEMTT- “rifle cups”, bodies of projectiles, “Namer APC” or “Namer APC Power Packs”.
Oshkosh are military vehicles. The acronym JLTV stands for Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the name of a US military program launched in 2006 to develop replacements for the Humvee. The average weight of this type of military vehicle is 6,400 kilos, with variations depending on its model and accessories.
The documents indicate a load in these Maersk Seletar shipments of 396,740 pounds of Oshkosh JLTV vehicles, which is equivalent to about 179,958 kilos.
The acronym HEMTT stands for Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The Oshkosh FMTV belong to the family of medium tactical vehicles. The Namer APC is a heavy infantry fighting vehicle and a key player in the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
The loading of the Maersk Denver
Regarding the Maersk Denver, diverted last Friday by the Spanish Government, the databases analyzed by Progressive International and Palestinian Youth Movement reveal that the ship made three trips from the US to Algeciras, between December 2023 and July 2024, with cargo for Israel.
On these trips he carried military equipment – the type was not specified – weighing 109,189 kilograms, as well as Oshkosh JLTV (92,174 kilos) and FMTV (74,071 kilos) military vehicles, rifle cups, unknown armored material, diplomatic cargo, projectile bodies and airplane tires.
There is also a shipment that corresponds to products without description, as well as armored plates or diplomatic cargo, among others.
Without the dissemination of this investigation, the two ships would have docked in Algeciras, as others did in recent months.
The role of Nysted Maersk
After the diversion of the Maersk Denver, elDiario.es revealed last Thursday that a third ship, the Nysted Maersk, was scheduled to stop in Algeciras that same Friday. Given this, an official foreign source told this medium that they were in contact with the ports so that they “extremely control the controls of this shipowner’s ships.”
Finally, the route of the Nysted Maersk was also diverted, at the end of last week, to prevent its stopover in Algeciras. Instead, the ship docked in Tangier, where the Maersk Denver had stopped days before, after having failed to reach Spain.
On some occasions, the Nysted Maersk has taken cargo that a previous ship left in Algeciras, so it is considered possible that this time it was able to pick up at least part of the Denver’s cargo landed there in Tangier, before continuing on its way to Israel.
Without the dissemination of the investigation published last week, these two ships would have docked in the Cadiz port, as others did in recent months.
Only between May and September did they stop in Algeciras – and from there continue to Israel – shipments of armored plates (203 shipments), armored vehicles (57 shipments), engines, vehicle and aircraft parts, aircraft tires, projectile bodies and equipment diverse military. All this, despite the suspension announced by the Spanish Government in May, when there were already complaints about suspicious ships pointed out by various groups.
The usual route, after Algeciras, continues towards Alexandria (Egypt), Mersin (Turkey), Haifa (Israel), Vado Ligure (Italy), Fos sur Mer (France), Barcelona, Valencia, Casablanca and, again, the Cadiz port .
Furthermore, as elDiario.es published last Friday, not only the Maersks follow a route through some of these ports: several ships from the Israeli shipping company ZIM also make a stopover in Valencia and Barcelona from the US, with their final destination Israel, as as revealed by an analysis carried out by researcher Alejandro Pozo, from the Dèlas Center for Peace Studies.
Seizure and systematic inspection demands
Several groups, integrated into the End Arms Trade with Israel campaign, have long demanded a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel to install supervision mechanisms on this type of routes, as well as on sales. “We ask that an urgent systematic inspection protocol be put in place for all ships destined for Israel,” they tell elDiario.es from the Solidarity Network against the Occupation of Palestine (RESCOP). “These are not isolated cases and we have been saying for a long time that we cannot go ship to ship,” they add.
The Dèlas Center for Peace Studies has spoken along the same lines, through its report “Business as usual”. Recently 300 personalities from the world of culture signed a letter in which they ask President Pedro Sánchez for a comprehensive embargo, including “the transit of weapons and military fuel through our territory.”
Spanish Law 53/2007 establishes full commitment to the International Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits transfers – which includes transit – of military material to recipients who may use it to commit war crimes such as attacks on civilians, crimes against humanity or genocide, which places Israel in a destiny not compatible with said Treaty.
In addition, the UN Assembly resolution approved in September – with 124 votes in favor, including that of Spain – orders the suspension of investments, trade and transfers – which includes transit – that could contribute to the occupation. illegal Israeli or used as military material in the Palestinian territories.
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