German lawyers ask court to block arms shipment to Israel weapons firm

Human rights lawyers have filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block a 150-metric-tonne shipment of military-grade explosives aboard German cargo ship MV Kathrin which they say is to be delivered to Israel’s biggest defence contractor, Reuters reports.

The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) said yesterday the action was filed on behalf of three Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that the shipment of primarily RDX explosives could be used in munitions for Israel’s war on Gaza, potentially contributing to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Germany-based Lubeca Marine, which owns the MV Kathrin, said the ship “was never scheduled to make any port calls in Israel” and had recently discharged its cargo, originally destined for Bar, Montenegro, without disclosing where the discharge took place.

The company declined to disclose details of the cargo for contractual reasons, but said it complied fully with all international and EU regulations, ensuring necessary permits are obtained before any operations.

The ELSC said the RDX shipment was destined for Israeli Military Industries, a division of Elbit Systems ESLT.TA, Israel’s largest defence contractor. Elbit Systems declined to comment.

“We never claimed that the Kathrin was bound for Israel (itself), it’s the cargo which is bound for Elbit Systems,” ELSC lawyer Ahmed Abed told Reuters with respect to the group’s appeal filed at Berlin’s Administrative Court.

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“The company ignored all the warnings.”

LSEG data and vessel-tracking website Marine Traffic indicated that the MV Kathrin had docked in the major Egyptian Mediterranean port of Alexandria on Monday and was last seen there.

According to the port of Alexandria’s website, the ship, which it identified as German, unloaded military equipment in Alexandria and was set to depart on 5 November.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The MV Kathrin has been denied entry at several African and Mediterranean ports, including in Angola, Slovenia, Montenegro and Malta, according to the ELSC. It said Portuguese authorities recently required the ship to switch from a Portuguese flag to a German flag before it could continue.

In August, Namibian authorities blocked the vessel, which departed from Vietnam’s port of Haiphong, from entering its main harbour, Amnesty International has reported.

Germany’s economy ministry, named in the case because the ship is German-owned and flagged, said it had received letters from lawyers on the matter but declined to comment.

The ministry said the MV Kathrin shipment did not constitute an export from Germany, as the explosives were neither loaded nor dispatched from German territory. It said there was no legal basis for requiring an export licence under German law.