The HC Opal is in the Mediterranean, en route to the port of Larnaca, Cyprus. The vessel, sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, is believed to be carrying military supplies, including explosives and rocket parts and fuses, destined for use by Israel in its ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the illegally occupied Gaza Strip.
The vessel is owned by the International Maritime Management (Imm), registered in Ahrensburg, Germany. The Norwegian insurance company Gard is providing the insurance cover for the HC Opal. The Danish corporation Ocean 7 Project managing the vessel is the same company that operated the illegal voyage of the MV Kathrin, that carried explosives to Israel during the genocide.
From July to October 2024, the BDS movement turned the MV Kathrin into a rogue vessel, mounting civil society pressure on states calling for it to be denied docking or, if docking was granted, its cargo for Israel to be seized by state officials. The campaign mobilized civil society groups, dock workers, and thousands of supporters across Africa, Europe and the Arab region. It was denied docking in several states including Namibia and Malta and in October was forced to officially abandon the Portuguese flag.
Based on information we have received from a credible source, the BDS movement can outline that the HC Opal is believed to be carrying at least 23 containers of military materiel destined for use by Israel in its genocide against Palestinians in direct violation of the Genocide Convention and the orders of the International Court of Justice.
“All of this cargo is in fact raw material for making artillery shells and air-to-surface bombs. A single MK84 bomb can level a whole residential building, killing entire Palestinian families. Many of these bombs fail to explode, and the Israeli forces are in need of detonators to enhance the lethality of their weapons.” explained Dr Shir Hever, Military Embargo Campaign Coordinator with the BDS movement.
“After Israel quickly ran out of ammunition and as it is facing a growing military embargo, the Israeli government ordered Israel’s arms companies to establish domestic production lines for shells and bombs – for this purpose they need the raw materials which are brought by the HC Opal,” he continued.
These containers reportedly include:
- 1 container UN 0072 / 1.1D
UN 0072 class 1.1D: Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, wetted or Cyclonite, wetted or Hexogen, wetted or RDX, wetted with not less than 15 percent water by mass - 1 container UN 0042 / 1.1D
UN 0042 class 1.1D: Boosters, without detonator - 2 containers UN 0107 / 1.2B
UN 0107 class 1.2B: Fuzes, detonating - 7 containers UN 0186 / 1.3C
UN 0186 class 1.3C: Rocket motors - At least 12 containers UN 0209 / 1.1D
UN 0209 class 1.1D: Trinitrotoluene or TNT, dry or wetted with less than 30 percent water, by mass
According to the information received by the BDS movement, cargo for the HC Opal was loaded in Chennai, India.
The BDS movement calls on all states involved, especially Antigua and Barbuda, India, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Cyprus to take action now: verify the HC Opal’s cargo and halt any illegal transfer of the military supplies destined for use in Israel’s genocidal violence. If states fail to implement these measures, they themselves should be held accountable for violating international law.
The law leaves no doubt: Transfers of military materiel to Israel while it commits plausibly genocide, perpetrates apartheid and continues its illegal occupation are prohibited. As top legal experts confirm, flag states, coastal states as well as all those states that don’t take action while corporations under their jurisdiction engage in illegal military transfers to Israel, are to be held accountable for their involvement in these crimes.