Greek port workers block Israel bound arms consignment

A shipment sent from North Macedonia to the Greek port of Piraeus for loading onto a ship sailing to Israel was blocked by protesting port workers belonging to the Greek ENEDEP union of cargo handling workers. Port workers claimed that the container was carrying weapons destined for Israel. Reuters reported that the shipment included 21 tons of ammunition.

The shipment was scheduled to be loaded onto a ship flying the Marshall Islands flag, heading to the port of Haifa. “The vehicle has been transferred to the Keratsini Port Authority, which is conducting a preliminary investigation,” a Greek Coast Guard spokesperson told Balkan Insight (BIRN).

Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT), one of the leading container terminals in the Mediterranean, is a company founded in Greece and a subsidiary wholly controlled by the Chinese shipping company COSCO, which Globes revealed last January that it agreed to the Houthi demands not to… Allow it to stop working. Visiting Israeli ports.

“We do not have jurisdiction over the cargo, but the Greek authorities and primarily the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy do have jurisdiction. The cargo stopped at the port gates. We only have a contractual obligation to allow the cargo to be transported on the basis of safety rules,” said Nina Argropoulou, a spokeswoman for the Treaty. Patent Cooperation, for BIRN. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs told BIRN it could not comment on the issue, but confirmed that the shipment is currently being held at the port of Keratsini. Reuters reported that an arrest warrant had been issued against the Greek port workers leader.

In a Facebook post, the Greek Ports Association said: “It is time to shout loudly that we will not allow the port of Piraeus to become a starting point for war. We fight for peace and say no to Greece’s participation in the war!”

According to the Greek official ERT television channel, port workers wrote the phrase “You murderers, get out of the port” on the container heading to Israel, while chanting “Free Palestine.” This is not the first incident of its kind. In June, EDENEP prevented the MSC Altair, which was transporting, among other things, military materiel to Israel, from docking in Piraeus.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on October 20, 2024.

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