Two European MPs demand the investigation of a Saudi company that transports weapons to Yemen

Two  Members  of the Spanish United Left party at  the European Parliament Serra Rigo and Manu  Pineda on Friday called on the European Commission to  investigate  into the illegal practices  carried out by  the Saudi shipping company which is transporting weapons from Spain to Yemen with the aim of killing the Yemenis.

A joint statement issued by the two Spanish politicians stated that  “Saudi ships change their course, conceal their activity and boat data, close their geolocation systems, in addition to manipulating the location record data for some ports, change the flag and country of origin, and stop  for hours their   automatic  determining   location in European ports   to load weapons or hazardous materials and changes in the Saudi ships’ external signals  so that they are not clearly identified”.

The two MPs  pointed out that these practices are inconsistent with international maritime law  concerning the  use of  the automatic identification system in accordance with the International Maritime Organization and maritime security systems.

They stressed that these practices   are very dangerous work due to the shipping, transportation and loading of explosive materials and military equipment in ports which are close to residential areas.

The statement pointed out that the activity of these ships is concentrated in Spain to obtain weapons and military equipment and transfer them to be used  by the Saudi regime in its continuous aggression against Yemen and the killing of thousands of civilians.

The statement added that many of these ships come from the USA  and their final destination is the port of Aden in Yemen. The ships of the Saudi shipping company have  docked five times  at least  in Spanish ports this year.

International human rights organizations recently criticized the continuation of many countries, including the United States and France, to supply arms to the Saudi regime, which has been leading aggression against Yemen since March 2015.

The Saudi regime is   committing countless massacres against civilians, especially children and women, in its daily raids, bombing populated areas  and using the suffocating siege as a means of pressure..

Rawaa Ghanam