Piraeus Port Dockers Set Up Blockade To Stop Shipment Of Ammunition To Israel

Several members of the Dockworkers Union of Piraeus gathered at the Greek port to protest the arrival of a truck carrying a container loaded with 20 tonnes of ammunition bound for Israel.

The container came from North Macedonia and was to be loaded on a Marshall-Islands flagged vessel.

The Union states that it has objections to Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. If it allowed the cargo to pass, this would make the workers and inhabitants of Piraeus a possible target of attack from the enemies of Israel.

A statement uploaded on Facebook read that they would not allow the Port of Piraeus to become a ‘war springboard’. It also mentioned that they stand for peace and that Greece will not be a participant in this war.

Pictures uploaded on Facebook later showed people with flares and slogans sprayed on the truck, which read, ‘Murderers, get out of the port.’

Though Greece understands Israel’s right to self-defence against Hamas, it has called for an immediate ceasefire to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

The workers set a blockade on a public street outside the container terminal on the night of Thursday. On Friday, the truck and the container were under the protection of the port authority and an arrest warrant was issued for a Dockworkers’ Union leader.

In a statement, Piraeus Container Terminal mentioned that it handled the container due to the terms of its concession contract for port operations.

However, this was the most recent in a series of protests which targeted the weapons and ammunition bound for Israel. Another prominent case is against Kathrin, an 8000 DWT freighter said to be loaded with eight containers of RDX explosives for Israel.

Kathrin was refused berthing in Namibia, Malta and Montenegro after antiwar activists sent petitions to the local authorities. The freighter is still anchored off Malta.

References: Reuters, Ekathimerini

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Source: Maritime Shipping News