THE UK Government has been urged to prevent a tanker carrying jet fuel for the Israeli military from docking in Gibraltar after concerns were expressed by campaigners and MPs.
Protests from trade union activists and campaigners in Spain have already led to the Overseas Santorini, a tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of jet fuel for the Israeli military’s ongoing assault in Gaza, scrapping plans to dock in the port of Algeciras in Cadiz.
On Monday, MPs from the SNP, Labour and the Green Party wrote a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and chief minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo urging them to prevent the tanker from docking in Gibraltar.
Campaigners were concerned the ship would attempt to birth in the British overseas territory after a global shipping tracker put it on course to the reach the island by 3pm on Tuesday.
The letter said: “As you read this, an oil tanker called the Overseas Santorini is completing its crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
“It carries an estimated 300,000 barrels of military fuel, loaded from the Bill Greehey oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas destined for the port of Ashkelon, Israel.
“From there, the jet fuel will be unloaded and used to fuel the Israeli Air Force’s F16 and F35 that drop bombs on the people of Gaza.
“300,000 barrels of fuel are sufficient for around 12,000 f-16 refuellings.
“We write to you as cross-pasrty British parliamentarians calling on you to do everything in your power to prohibit and prevent Gibraltar being used as a haven for the transport of military fuel used in Israel’s assault on Gaza.
BREAKING 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 The Overseas Santorini, a tanker carrying military fuel for Israel’s assault on Gaza, has just sailed PAST Gibraltar🇬🇮 and is stationary in the Mediterranean Sea. This follows mounting international pressure from the #NoHarbourForGenocide campaign and British MPs. pic.twitter.com/aDJVNwBEWx
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) July 30, 2024
“The case to prevent Gibraltar’s facilities from being complicit in Israel’s breaches of international law are overwhelming.”
The letter was signed by SNP MP Brendan O’Hara, Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, recently suspended Labour rebel Zarah Sultana and several others on the left of Keir Starmer’s party.
The government in Gibraltar insisted that it had received no formal request to dock from the Overseas Santorini.
Indeed, on Tuesday campaigners celebrated after shipping data showed the vessel had sailed passed the island.
The Labour MP Sarah Champion, a signatory of the letter and former chair of the international development committee, said on X/Twitter: “Huge relief!”.
However, campaign group Global Energy Embargo for Palestine said they feared the vessel had merely stalled and could potentially return to Gibraltar.
It comes after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced that the UK was reopening trade talks with Israel, which Scottish Secretary Ian Murray branded “great news for Scotland”.
