Spanish authorities refuse to let two vessels from the Danish shipping company Maersk dock at the port of Algeciras. The reason is the suspicion that the vessels are transporting weapons to Israel.
The vessels have applied to dock at Algeciras on November 8 and 14.
Maersk confirms the information to Ritzau, but denies that the vessels are transporting weapons.
"We can confirm that the vessel Maersk Denver has been redirected from Algeciras to Tangier in Morocco. The Spanish authorities' grounds for refusing the vessel access to the port are unknown to us, as it fully complies with national and international laws and regulations on what can be loaded," writes the shipping giant, stating that neither weapons nor ammunition are in the cargo.
Spain, one of the toughest European critics of Israel's warfare in Gaza, announced in February that the country would stop all arms exports to Israel. Since May, the country has taken a tougher stance against vessels transporting weapons to Israel.
The Middle East does not need more weapons, they need more peace, said Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares then.
