Lisbon, Nov. 10, 2024 (Lusa) - Danish shipping group Maersk Denver said on Sunday today that the cargo of the ship that docked in Lisbon today which allegedly has a history of transporting arms to Israel, is legal and is not carrying any military weapons or ammunition.

‘The cargo in question fully complies with national and international laws and regulations. The cargo to be transhipped does not include any weapons or military ammunition,’ Maersk Denver said in a statement sent to Lusa.

The ship in question docked in Lisbon on Saturday after being prevented from docking in Spain.

The group also clarified that the cargo is being transported on behalf of the US as part of the US-Israel security cooperation programme.

Maersk said it had provided all the necessary information ‘well in advance’, complying with the established procedure, and had not received any expressions of concern from the authorities.

‘[...] The port authorities did not use the opportunity to inspect the cargo, which remains available for inspection at any time,’ it emphasised.

On the other hand, he said he had consulted the Spanish authorities to find out why the ship was denied entry into that country, bearing in mind that the cargo was no different from other consignments transhipped at that port.

On Saturday night, dozens of people demonstrated against the docking in Lisbon of a ship which, according to the parliamentary leader of the Left Bloc, Favian Figueiredo, has been ‘on the route of the genocide’ in Gaza and has been ‘central to Israel's armaments’.

The denunciation came from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, which said that the ship had made hundreds of illegal arms shipments to Israel in recent months via the Spanish port of Algeciras.

PE/ADB // ADB.

Lusa