A ship carrying materials used to produce munitions is reportedly heading for Malta but a senior government official said it will not be allowed in.
The Dutch-registered Eendracht is currently off West Africa, having started its journey from India. The website marinetraffic.com shows it heading for Malta. A Transport Malta spokesperson said no formal notification had been received for the Eendracht to enter port.
According to the Ditch, an Irish news website, reported that Eendracht is carrying some 75 tonnes of missile bodies and six tonnes of Hexachloroethane, due to be delivered to IMI Systems in Ramat Hasharon.
Hexachloroethane is used in the production of 155 mm artillery gun shells used by the Israel Defence Forces.
There is currently no EU arms embargo on Israel, and European companies are free to sell military equipment and armaments and supply that country.
But pressure has been growing for an EU-wide embargo, particularly from Spain.
A senior government official told Times of Malta: “We have no official news about this vessel yet. The last vessel seeking to berth with ammunition for Israel was not allowed entry. We have a standing position not to allow vessels with arms sailing towards any war areas.”
Last month, activist group Ġustizzja għall-Palestina urged the authorities not to allow Malta-flagged vessels to transport military supplies, after it emerged that a container ship flying the Maltese flag was reportedly set to deliver military grade steel to Israel. Marinetraffic.com still shows the ship flying the Maltese flag.
Last week, a Belgian court ordered a halt to arms shipments to Israel from Antwerp the EU’s second-largest port, as anti-genocide activists sought legal ways to break Europe’s political inertia.