The Saudi cargo vessel that was to have taken on a shipment of French weapons in Le Havre did not dock at the French port as scheduled. A port source confirmed to the French news agency AFP that the vessel would not be going to Le Havre.
According to its route plan, the 220-metre-long Bahri Yanbu, which was anchored since Wednesday about 30 km from Le Havre, is now scheduled to head for Bilbao, Spain. The cargo vessel had stopped at Antwerp Port last weekend.
Meanwhile, a Belgian court has thrown out a suit by Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) aimed at blocking arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
This was one of two such suits filed by associations in Belgium on the grounds that the weapons could be used against civilians in Yemen, where Riyadh leads a coalition supporting the president.
The administrative court ruled in response to the Acat suit that issuing an exit licence for the weapons did not create “a characterised and imminent danger for the lives of the persons” exposed to the conflict in Yemen.
The Brussels Times
