USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the United States Navy is shown at its home port of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, US, May 18, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)
JERUSALEM POST | Published December 7, 2024
The Spanish transport minister admitted in May that the the Danish-flagged ship Marianne Danica was denied port entry for “carrying weapons to Israel.”
“The commission is concerned that this apparent policy of denying entry to certain vessels will create conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade,” it said Thursday in a notice published in the Federal Register.
Spain could be subjected to millions in fines if it has been found to have interfered with commerce. The maximum fine is $2.3 million per voyage. Spanish ships may also be barred from entering US ports in response.
The commission said it had been made aware on November 19 that ships, including those enrolled in the US-run Maritime Security Program, had been denied entry. The Washington Times named two of the ships as he Maersk Denver and Maersk Seletar.
A Maersk spokesman denied that the ships were carrying weapons for Israel in November, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Spanish officials admit to rejected Israel-bound ships
Two of the ships rejected in November were from the Danish shipping giant Maersk and a third was rejected in May.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.m.jpost.com
RELATED: US Probes Spain’s Reported Port Denial of Ships Carrying Arms to Israel
NEWSWEEK | Published December 7, 2024
The United States has launched a probe into whether Spain has denied port entry to cargo ships reportedly transporting American weapons to Israel.
The U.S. Investigation
On Thursday, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)—an independent body that monitors issues related to U.S. shipping—said it had opened an investigation based on reports that Spain wouldn’t permit at least three vessels into its ports. Two of the three incidents involved in the investigation occurred in November, while the other happened in May.
“The commission is concerned that this apparent policy of denying entry to certain vessels will create conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade,” the FMC said in a message published in the Federal Register.
The FMC said in the notice that it was informed last month of Spain refusing port entry to ships participating in U.S. Maritime Administration’s Maritime Security Program, which is designed to give vessels protection due to their possible use by the U.S. military.
Should the FMC find that Spain did deny port entry to such ships, it could fine the country up to $2.3 million per voyage.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.newsweek.com
Be the first to comment