Lawyers petition for investigation into claims Israel-bound ship carrying explosives docked in Alexandria, military spox denies ‘supporting Israel in operations’

Amid claims made on social media earlier this week that a ship carrying explosives to Israel was allowed to dock at Alexandria Port, six lawyers filed a report on Thursday to the Public Prosecution demanding an investigation into the claims. 

“We represent ourselves and six other clients,” said lawyer and campaigner Mahienour al-Massry, one of the lawyers filing the report. The report calls for the prosecution to investigate the chair of the Alexandria Port Authority and the chief executive of the Egyptian Maritime Consultancy Office (EMCO) for their potential role in allowing the ship to enter Egyptian waters and dock, Massry added. 

Claims circulated on social media earlier this week that the MV Kathrin, a ship previously linked to transporting weapons to Israel, made berth in Alexandria, after other countries refused to allow the ship to dock to avoid being implicated in the genocide case South Africa has lodged against Israel in the International Court of Justice. 

The Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson "categorically denied" claims that Egypt "supported Israel in its military operations" in a statement published on Thursday night.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in Egypt claimed in a statement on Wednesday that the MV Kathrin, which departed from Germany carrying explosives bound for Israel, had docked at Alexandria Port on Monday night. 

“It appears the ship unloaded its cargo, in a serious and unexpected turn in its route after several countries, including Malta, Namibia and Angola, denied it entry due to its military shipment intended to fuel Israel’s war machine in its genocidal war on Gaza,” the statement said. 

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese said in August that the MV Kathrin, which was sailing under a Portuguese flag at the time, was expected to deliver eight containers of explosives to Israel.  

"These explosives are reportedly key components in the aircraft bombs and missiles that Israel is deploying against besieged Gaza and in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinians," she said.

She said that Namibia had denied port access to the ship in August under international law, and urged Angola to do the same.  

Albanese further warned that “any military transfer to Israel, which the International Court of Justice determined may be plausibly committing genocide, amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention and Human Rights Council Resolution 55/L.30, mandating an arms embargo on Israel.”

BDS stated two weeks ago that, together with its partners, it managed to pressure the Maltese government to deny MV Kathrin entry to its waters. At the time, the statement said pressure from activists, unions and popular movements had prevented MV Kathrin from docking at any port, including Malaysia, Montenegro and Slovenia. 

According to the statement, the European Legal Support Center sent a legal notice to the Portuguese government in September urging it to remove its flag from the vessel in adherence with international laws against complicity in acts of genocide. It further stated that the Portuguese government had previously demanded MV Kathrin remove its flag following investigations prompted by public and union pressure. 

Massry told Mada Masr that the report filed to the Public Prosecution seeks to verify whether the MV Kathrin’s cargo was transferred to another ship, the Transbay, and then shipped onward to Israel.

The ship tracking website MarineTraffic showed that the Transbay departed from the Alexandria Port to Ashdod in Israel shortly after the MV Kathrin’s arrival in Egypt’s waters, according to Massry. 

If the allegations prove true, the report calls on authorities to seize the vessel and demands an investigation into EMCO for its role in what the report described as a “crime,” Massry said. If EMCO is found culpable, the petition requests that the prosecution list it as a terrorist entity under terrorist entities and terrorist designation law.

On Thursday evening, a high-level Egyptian source speaking to the state-aligned Al-Qahira News denied claims that Alexandria Port allowed the German ship MV Kathrin to dock.