Israel military weapons pass through Namibian waters

The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) says a military weapons vessel allegedly on its way to Israel recently transited through Namibian waters.

A second vessel was denied permission to dock at Walvis Bay on Friday.

Namport chief executive Andrew Kanime says the first vessel, the MV Nordic, did not dock at the port, but transited through Namibian waters on its way to its final destination.

The second vessel, the MV Kathrin, also carrying weapons, was expected to have docked at Walvis Bay on Monday, but was denied permission to do so on Friday.

This revelation comes after pressure groups wrote to both the government and the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation to block the ship from Namibia’s waters.

The Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT), a Namibian human rights organisation, has called on the port to deny the MV Kathrin entry.

In an open letter to Kanime last Wednesday, ESJT chairperson Herbert Jauch expressed concern that the MV Kathrin may be carrying cargo destined for use in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

He said allowing the vessel to dock in Namibia could make the country complicit in potential human rights violations by Israel.

The letter was also shared with international relations minister Peya Mushelenga.

Kanime this week said the MV Nordic allegedly transported military supplies from India to Israel.

Regarding the second vessel, he said the MV Kathrin had to adhere to International Maritime Organisation (IMO), national, and Namport protocol.

Namport did not receive pre-clearance documentation and cannot confirm if the vessel carried dangerous cargo, Kanime said.

He said the MV Nordic vessel, however, obtained all the necessary approvals for carrying dangerous cargo while in transit, and the cargo was not offloaded in Namibia.

As a transit country, Namibia has no legal right to prevent the transportation of approved goods through its waters.

“It duly declared and obtained the requisite approval from the relevant authorities for the transit through Namibian territorial waters of the dangerous cargo that it had had on board,” Kanime said.

He said this complies with the provisions of IMO regulations, stipulating that all vessels must declare any dangerous goods on board when transiting through global territorial waters and ports.

While vessels must declare dangerous goods on board, there is no legal basis to inform Namport of the owner of the cargo, Kanime said.

“It is, therefore, impossible for Namport to know the owner of the cargo, and as such, Namport would never know who the end customer of the cargo is,” he said.

He said all vessels calling on the port of Walvis Bay or transiting through Namibian waters are approached in full accordance with Namport’s responsibilities in terms of the IMO convention.

Namport’s executive for commercial services, Elias Mwenyo, yesterday said the MV Kathrin entered Namibian waters on Friday, but was not granted approval to enter the port.

He said the vessel came from Vietnam.

Mwenyo said the approval of various authorities is required for a vessel to dock.

“We are just the line of defence, so because it was carrying dangerous cargo, the vessel had to get permission from the explosive unit [of the Namibian Police]. I am told permission was not granted,” he said.