The Portuguese Foreign Ministry said the ship carrying explosives for Israel and other countries had removed the Portuguese flag after necessary preparations, Euractiv reported.
The technical steps have been completed, and the flag has been removed.
On 30 September, an official source reported that the Kathrin had requested the removal of the Portuguese flag, taking an “irreversible” decision after the Portuguese government made representations to the ship’s owner about its cargo. The German-owned vessel, listed in Madeira until Tuesday, was carrying explosives destined for arms manufacturers in Israel, Poland and Slovakia.
The opposition asked the prosecutor’s office to “monitor and prevent Portugal from being accused internationally of complicity in genocide.” The Left Bloc also invited the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, to appear before the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on the case.
In September, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese called on the Portuguese government to “urgently” demand the removal of the Portuguese flag from the Kathrin.
After recognising the plausibility of genocide in Gaza in January 2024, the ICJ [International Court of Justice] made it clear that all states have an obligation to ‘respect and enforce’ the Genocide Convention ‘in all circumstances’, and that states have ‘international obligations regarding the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict.’
