GENOA: ARMS ON CARGO SHIP SPARK PROTESTS AND PROSECUTOR'S INVESTIGATION

US military vehicles and other armaments were discovered aboard the cargo ship Bahri Yanbu, bound for Abu Dhabi, leading to port blockades and the opening of an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office.

In Genoa, the presence of the Saudi cargo ship Bahri Yanbu, laden with tanks and other weapons, at Italy's largest port and bound for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, has ignited fierce protests.

Port workers blocked the Etiopia and Ponente gates, causing significant disruption to heavy vehicle traffic heading to the Genoese port.

The protest erupted after the discovery, captured in photos taken by port workers, of US military vehicles and several containers filled with explosive materials aboard the Bahri Yanbu. The ship departed from the port of Dundalk, known in the United States for military exports, and is currently docked at the GMT terminal.

A similar protest was held in June at the port of Antwerp, Belgium, after a shipment of weapons destined for Israel was discovered. On Thursday, the Brussels Court of First Instance ordered the Flemish government to block the container and also prohibited any future transit of military equipment to Israel.

Reasons for the Genoa Port Protest

The strike, according to the statement released by the USB trade union, came just hours after a formal complaint was submitted to the Genoa Prefecture, Port Authority, and Port Authority.

"The document called for immediate intervention to stop this and any other movement of explosives and military vehicles destined for war zones, especially when—as in this case—there are strong doubts about the legality of the operation. According to information gathered by USB, the Bahri Yanbu's cargo allegedly lacks the necessary documentation required by law, an element that would make blocking the operation even more urgent," the union's statement reads, continuing: "The picket is a direct response to this latest confirmation of the militarization of the port and the complicity of institutions and port authorities in allowing the transit of armaments."

"Workers who boarded found the ship loaded as rarely before: weapon systems, explosives, ammunition. Following the photos and videos taken, officers called in Delta agents, already present on site, to have the footage deleted. But they did not fully succeed in their intent. Words are beginning to be not enough," the Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali (Autonomous Port Workers Collective) wrote in a social media post on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Collective had also published a photo of what appears to be a cannon produced by the Leonardo group's Oto Melara company, destined for a Fincantieri ship present in the port of Abu Dhabi.

The Genoa Public Prosecutor's Office has meanwhile opened an investigation into the Bahri Yanbu ship. The investigations began after the USB's complaint, which alleges a violation of Law 185 of 1990, regulating the transit of arms in Italian ports.