Al-Qalam 
Palestinian activists have been thanked for their quick mobilisation to confront a suspect ship – and also heartened by the urgent action of police to investigate, Ismail Suder reports.
An Indian-owned ship, the MV Ultramarine, suspected of carrying military cargo en route to Israel, was given the all clear by SA police investigators following a huge outcry and mass mobilisation by pro-Palestinian activists.
Lubna Nadvi, a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance (PSA) in Durban, said she was heartened by the quick mobilisation of local activists.
“Comrades we can confirm as the Durban mobilising group that the ship was checked by the South African authorities and nothing was found that was on its way to Israel. There was engagement happening at multiple levels. Thank you to BDS Coalition comrades for having tipped us off and to all Durban citizens for their engagement and participation. We look forward to having everyone remaining committed to ongoing pro Palestine solidarity activism in the city and province”.
Earlier, the international BDS Coalition said it had credible information that the MV Ultramarine was carrying military supplies from India to Israel. It wrote that the vessel was reportedly carrying 15 containers of “dangerous cargo” for Israel’s ongoing genocide against 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza, it said in a bulletin.
The BDS Coalition tipped off local activist groups of a ship heading to Durban, suspected of carrying 15 containers of military cargo.
It advised local activists and SA authorities to take “immediate due diligence action, investigate the vessel, and in case the suspicion was confirmed, stop the cargo, withdraw any docking permission and prohibit any servicing.
Within minutes of the alert going out on social media platforms, activists were heading to the Durban harbour to ensure the ship would secretly leave before its cargo was checked by police and port authorities.
Despite the cold weather and time ticking closer to midnight, news came in that the MV Ultramarine was anchored off Umdloti and wouldn’t be entering the port that night. It was at that stage that the activists left the harbour, only to track the ship the next day.
Meanwhile, the social media chatter continued into the early morning of Wednesday with urgent calls for the SA police, Government officials, port security, the EFF and other groups to investigate whether the ship had any military cargo on board.
Police and Government authorities heeded the call and gave the all clear following inspection of the MV Ultramarine.
South Africa took apartheid Israel to the ICJ under the Genocide Convention and co-hosts the Hague Group of States, which this month reaffirmed commitment to prevent the provision or transfer of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel, prevent the transit, docking, and servicing of vessels at any port in all cases where there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry those items to Israel.
According to maritime law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea imposes a duty on coastal states to take necessary action within their territorial seas, including interrupting or suspending passage of vessels carrying military supplies or cargo assisting Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide.
It said South Africa was obliged to: Stop or board the vessel; redirect its passage; order it to leave the territorial sea; or employ proportional and legal force. Failure to act may result in accountability under international law.
