Dockworkers at the Italian port of Genoa on Friday refused to load weapons onto a Saudi vessel destined for the Israeli-occupied territories, defying Italy’s complicity in Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza. The Saudi ship Bahri Yanbu, which arrived from Baltimore, Maryland, the United States, was scheduled to take on military equipment manufactured by the Italian arms conglomerate Leonardo.
This equipment included an Oto Melara cannon destined for Abu Dhabi, and possibly tanks and other heavy weaponry already staged in the terminal yard.
The workers blocked the loading of the cannon and, through on-site inspections at dawn, exposed the ship’s cargo, already filled with weapons, ammunition, explosives, armored vehicles, and tanks. Despite attempts to obstruct their access, around 40 dockworkers, supported by unions USB and CALP, boarded to document the shipment.
Their actions prompted the Port Authority to enter damage-control mode, making vague promises to discuss the establishment of a “permanent observatory on arms trafficking” in September.
However, the dockworkers made their stance clear: “We do not work for war.”
This recent blockade follows a significant incident from late July when dockworkers in Genoa obstructed the unloading of military cargo destined for Israeli-occupied territories after receiving intelligence from Greek unions. These actions are part of a broader trend of international solidarity.
On October 20, 2024, dockworkers at Greece’s Port of Piraeus halted the loading of 21 tons of ammunition onto the ZIM-chartered ship Marla Bull, which was bound for Ashdod port in occupied Palestine. They chanted “Freedom for Palestine,” “We fight for peace,” “No to Greece’s participation in the war,” and successfully forced the vessel to leave without the cargo.
On June 4, dockworkers in Marseille-Fos refused to load 14 tons of machine-gun components and cannon parts onto a ship bound for Haifa in the occupied territories, triggering coordinated inspections and solidarity from dockworkers in Genoa, Salerno, and Scilla.
These collective refusals are in response to a call from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), issued in mid-October 2023, urging workers worldwide to refuse roles in Israel’s arms supply chain, block transportation, and pressure governments and complicit companies.
