Activists have called on the government to force a Malta-flagged vessel to return its cargo of coal bound for Israel back to Colombia, claiming the coal’s delivery would contravene a decree from the country’s president, or de-flag the vessel.
In a statement, activist group Ġustizzja għall-Palestina said the Malta-flagged bulk carrier vessel Fortune had left Colombia on July 24 with a consignment of coal due to be delivered in Israel’s Port Hadera on August 14.
The group claimed the shipment violates a Colombian presidential decree issued in August last year banning the export of coal to Israel.
The decree attributes the ban to coal’s “contribution to [energy] generation used in military operations”, with a ban on its export to Israel aimed at “generating a demand for Israel to cease actions against the Palestinian people”.
Writing on X last week, Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro described the Fortune’s shipment of coal to Israel as a “challenge to my government” and said the country’s navy would be ordered to detain ships bound for Israel while asking his labour minister to hold “urgent” talks with coal unions.
“Not a single tonne of coal will go to Israel… we are not accomplices in genocide,” Petro told military personnel in a speech the following day.
Ġustizzja għall-Palestina said that in addition to contravening the ban, the Fortune’s captain, “in flagrant disregard for the basic norms of seamanship and safety, has not reported its position for the past nine days.”
At the time of publication, the last position of the Fortune – reported more than seven days ago – was off the east coast of the Dominican Republic, bound for Israel, according to maritime tracking website marinetraffic.com.
“If delivered, the coal will feed the Israeli energy grid, which integrates the illegally occupied West Bank and Golan Heights, directly aiding and assisting Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise”, Ġustizzja għall-Palestina said.
It asked Malta to “comply with its obligations under international law… which imposes a duty on flag states to exercise control and jurisdiction over vessels flying their flag”.
“Ġustizzja għall-Palestina urgently requests that the Government of Malta take prompt and effective action: either the Fortune returns its cargo to Colombia, or it should no longer be allowed to fly the Maltese flag.”
Underlining its “profound concern at Israel’s policy of mass starvation in Gaza”, the group reiterated calls for the government to ensure that no military supplies or dual-use items – denoting those of both civilian and military application – be carried by vessels flying the Maltese flag.
“No military supplies should be conveyed under the Maltese flag to any conflict area anywhere in the world. Malta should emulate Antigua and Barbuda, which have set the standard for such a policy”, the group said.
Stressing that legal and human experts “agree” that transferring such items “to a state committing genocide… is forbidden under international law”, the group said countries and companies allowing such transfers “are themselves guilty of failure to prevent those crimes”.
“All actors involved in the transfer of this shipment on the Fortune must be held accountable under international law… To do nothing is to fail Malta’s obligation to prevent Israel’s escalating crimes against the Palestinian people.”
The group’s statement comes at a time of increased focused on shipments to Israel by Malta-flagged vessels; last month, a senior government official said a Dutch-registered ship bound for Israel carrying materials used to produce munitions would not be allowed to dock in Malta.
Meanwhile, in June, Ġustizzja għall-Palestina called on Transport Malta to halt “illegal transfer of military supplies” on Malta-flagged vessels after it emerged the Malta-flagged container ship ZIM Luanda was scheduled to transport “40 bulks of military grade steel” from Barcelona to the Israeli port of Haifa.