The United States continues to be an essential supplier of weapons to Israel while the massacres against the civilian population in northern Gaza continue, and to do so it uses several transport routes. Information to which elDiario.es has had access indicates that, in October and November of this year, the ship MV Sagamore used the Rota naval base, in Cádiz, to make a stopover while transporting weapons to the Israeli port of Ashdod, thus covering a service for the US Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Through satellite images, the presence of the ship on the coast of Rota on October 27 is confirmed. The freighter was currently carrying yellow containers on the deck. It came from the MOTSU port (Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point), located in Wilmington, North Carolina (USA) – belonging to the United States Department of Defense – and was destined for Ashdod, Israel.
Another satellite image from November 16 shows how the Sagamore appears again in Rota, after passing through Israel, now without yellow containers on the deck. The Rota military base is shared use with the United States, but under exclusive Spanish sovereignty.
Satellite images show the ship in Rota with containers on the outward journey and without them on the return trip
Calculation of the shipment of military material
An investigation by the international groups Progressive International and Palestinian Youth Movement, provided to this newspaper, has been able to verify that the Sagamore unloaded some 48 containers in Rota – a decrease in the ship’s draft of 0.2 was detected – despite the fact that it did not dock in the port. After that, it remained for 37 hours with its tracker turned off and reappeared on November 10, 34 miles from the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Ships chartered to the US Navy that transport explosives and ammunition do not include bills of lading in accessible databases. That is, there is no public information about the content of his cargo. “This means that the precise amount of military material loaded or unloaded cannot be determined, but estimates can be made based on changes in draft,” explain the researchers in contact with elDiario.es.
The ship delivered thousands of tons of explosive munitions to Israel as it continues to launch attacks on Gaza
Draft is the distance between the hull of a ship and the surface of the water, and changes depending on the amount of cargo the ship is carrying. After passing through the Israeli port of Ashdod, the Sagamore reported “a decrease in the ship’s draft of 0.4 m, which corresponds to approximately ninety-six containers of ammunition” and other military supplies.
This evidence shows the use of the Rota base in Spain for the transfer of weapons to Israel, despite the fact that the Spanish Government stated in May that it would not allow these stops in Spanish ports. The evidence used by the investigative team is the changes in the ship’s draft, its travel history, satellite images and the ship’s past in delivering military material to Israel.
The US port from which the ship came (MOTSU) is the largest military port in the world and is used exclusively for the transport of live ammunition and explosives. With all this information, the investigative team indicates that this ship delivered “thousands of tons of Class 1 explosive munitions to Israel this winter while Israel carries out its war against Gaza.”
The US military port from which the ship came is the largest in the world and is used to transport live ammunition and explosives.
It also indicates strong indications that the Sagamore transported weapons from Cyprus to Israel between April and June, a mission that it combined with the construction of a floating dock in Gaza, a task commanded by the US Army and which ended less than two months later, after the collapse of the pier.
This past December 3, the Sagamore was docked again at the Sunny Point port (MOTSU), in Wilmington, USA. As of today, December 17, public information indicates that the ship is awaiting orders for this coming Thursday. Progressive International and the Palestinian Youth Movement warn that their presence in that military port may imply another travel plan to Israel to bring more military material.
These international groups ask “European and North African nations of conscience” to deny docking or resupply to all ships with military material to Israel and, specifically, they ask the Spanish Government to refuse to allow the base of Rota “or any Spanish water is used for ships transporting military material to Israel.”
In addition, they call on “all workers of conscience” in ports, transport and logistics in Europe and North Africa to refuse to handle any shipment of ammunition or military cargo destined for Israel.
Between May and September at least 25 ships with military material from the US to Israel stopped in Algeciras
They also recall that the use of the Rota naval base for the transport of Israeli military material violates the International Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits the transfer of weapons – including transit – to countries that may use them against the civilian population for war crimes, against humanity or genocide. Spanish Law 53/2007 establishes full commitment to said treaty.
In addition, the UN Assembly resolution approved in September – with 124 votes in favor, including that of Spain – requests member countries to suspend investments, trade and transfers – which includes transit – that may contribute to the illegal Israeli occupation or be used as military material in the Palestinian territories. Added to this are the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Minister of Defense for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In November, the Maersk shipping company indicated that the route of its ships through Algeciras with military cargo to Israel was “routine”
The stopover in Spain of other ships
This transit of weapons contradicts what was announced by the Spanish Foreign Minister, José María Albares, last May, when he assured that Spain would not allow transit of military material destined for Israel through Spain. However, as elDiario.es revealed in November, from that announcement in May until this month of September at least twenty-five ships with US military material for Israel transited – and transshipped – in the Spanish port of Algeciras.
This newspaper also announced on November 13, based on investigations by Progressive International and Palestinian Youth Movement, that another eleven ships of the Maersk shipping company planned to transport weapons from the US to Israel, stopping in Spain. Its staggered arrival in Algeciras was scheduled between November of this year and February 2025.
Given this information, groups and unions have demanded from the Spanish Government an inspection protocol for ships bound for Israel and a comprehensive arms embargo that includes surveillance of the transit of military material.
The US investigates Spain for the diversion of ships with military material to Israel and warns that it may sanction it
Asked about this, sources from the Spanish Foreign Ministry told this media that “no ship carrying military material to Israel will be authorized to stop in Spain” and assured that they had not been aware of the previous transits, so “it would be of fraudulent actions against which measures will be adopted.”
Given this, the shipping company Maersk diverted the route of its freighters to Tangier – which caused social protests in the North African country – and said it had contacted the Spanish authorities to understand why they denied “the entry of cargoes similar to previous shipments.” . In a statement, Maersk indicated the “routine” nature of the route of these ships through the port of Algeciras and the existence of cargo related “to the Army, with destination or origin in Israel.”
The US investigation into Spain
Following this information from elDiario.es and the reaction of the Spanish Government, this December the US Federal Maritime Commission – an agency of the US Government – entered the scene announcing that it could sanction Spain for vetoing the stopover in Algeciras of ships transporting weapons. for Israel.
In a statement released on December 7, said agency indicates that it is investigating whether Spain “is creating unfavorable conditions for maritime transport in the foreign trade of the United States by denying entry to its ports to certain vessels.”
The agency points out that US law authorizes this type of investigation and, “if necessary”, the adoption of “measures”, which includes the denial of entry into US ports to ships from the sanctioned country and fines of up to 2,304. $629 per stopover.
Valencia and Barcelona are also transit ports for weapons to Israel, denounces the Center Dèlas
In addition to Rota and Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona have also acted in recent months as transit ports for weapons destined for Israel, as elDiario.es revealed in November, through the conclusions of researcher Alejandro Pozo, from the Center Delàs de Estudios. for Peace. Pozo indicates that these scales are “the norm, not the exception.”
For all these reasons, national and international groups – port unions, movements such as RESCOP, jurists or people of culture – demand from the Spanish Government a comprehensive arms embargo that guarantees the end of transit and surveillance protocols to avoid new stops.
According to official figures, there are already more than 45,000 dead – 17,000 of them children – and some 102,000 people injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023. To these numbers we must add some 11,000 missing under the rubble, as well as the deaths caused by Israel’s intentional blocking of humanitarian aid, which is causing hunger and disease. Between this Sunday and Monday, the Israeli Army launched attacks against four schools with refugees in the Strip, killing 69 people, including several children, women, and a two-day-old baby.
Source: www.eldiario.es
