Saudi Arabian arms ship Bahri Yanbu faces growing opposition in European ports

Saudi Arabian arms ship Bahri Yanbu faces growing opposition in European ports
31 January 2020

Lawsuits, protests and other actions are planned in several European ports to oppose this week’s return of the Bahri Yanbu, a Saudi Arabian state-owned cargo ship that has previously ferried tens of millions of dollars’ worth of arms to fuel the war in Yemen, Amnesty International said today.

Fresh off a trans-Atlantic voyage after stopping in the USA and Canada last month, the cargo ship is due to visit five European ports beginning on 2 February, before continuing its onward voyage to Saudi Arabia. These include Bremerhaven (Germany); Antwerp (Belgium); Tilbury Docks (UK); Cherbourg (France), and Genoa (Italy).

“On a similar voyage in May 2019, protests and lawsuits blocked some of the arms destined for Yemen from being loaded on the Bahri Yanbu. Even so, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of military aircraft parts and other arms slipped through. Multiple states failed miserably to live up to their international obligations to halt arms transfers for use in war crimes and serious human rights violations,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher.

more....https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/01/saudi-arabian-arms-ship-b...