Occupied El Aaiún, August 18, 2024 (WAFA) - The Association for the Monitoring of Resources and the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AREN) denounced the involvement of several ships in the looting of phosphate in Western Sahara.
In this context, the association reported that, as part of its ongoing monitoring and surveillance of ships involved in the looting and theft of Sahrawi resources alongside the Moroccan occupation, it has identified a group of ships docked at the occupied port of El Aaiún, awaiting their turn to be loaded with Sahrawi phosphate looted and extracted from the Boukraa mine near the city of El Aaiún in the occupied part of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
These ships include:
The vessel V ATLAS with IMO number: 9670846, flying the Panamanian flag (Panama), is docked at the occupied port of El Aaiún and awaits its turn to load Sahrawi phosphate, participating in the ongoing looting of Sahrawi resources by the Moroccan occupation.
The vessel YOUNG GLORY with IMO number: 9690133, flying the South Korean flag (South Korea), is docked at the occupied port of El Aaiún and awaits its turn to load Sahrawi phosphate.
The vessel ALMERIA with IMO number: 9592721, flying the Liberian flag (Liberia), is docked at the occupied port of El Aaiún and awaits its turn to load Sahrawi phosphate.
The vessel SHENG XIANG HAI with IMO number: 9533062, flying the Chinese flag (China), is docked at the occupied port of El Aaiún and awaits its turn to load Sahrawi phosphate. Despite being docked for several days at the port designated for phosphate in occupied El Aaiún, it continues to indicate that it has not yet reached its final destination, as a form of deception.
The association affirmed that the involvement and participation of these ships in the looting and theft of Sahrawi resources constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, given the legal status of Western Sahara.