Athens Dockworkers Obstruct Military Cargo Headed to Israel

A successful mobilization led by dockworkers at the port of Piraeus in Athens has prevented the transport of military cargo bound for Israel on the ship Ever Golden. On Monday, July 14, dockworkers were joined by youth groups, other trade unionists, and community members in a large protest against the port’s involvement in the shipment of arms and related materials to Israeli ports, as the genocide in Gaza continues.

“The ship Ever Golden arrived without the war material intended to be used to continue the massacre in the Gaza Strip,” the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) stated. “Fearing the mobilization of trade unions and mass organizations, the cargo was transferred to another ship, which is expected to arrive in Piraeus on the evening of Wednesday, July 16.”

Workers were quick to call for a new refusal to handle the cargo, which trade unions now believe to be aboard the vessel COSCO Shipping Pisces. Representatives of the dockworkers’ union, ENEDEP, renewed calls for a mass mobilization and urged transport and logistic workers not to participate in handling such shipments. “Port workers will not become complicit by unloading military cargo from COSCO Shipping Pisces,” ENEDEP said on Monday.

“Our goal is to block the unloading and stop the transport of this deadly cargo,” the union reaffirmed. “It is our duty not to allow the port to turn us into a tool of war against unarmed people.”

Previously, Greek dockworkers have carried out similar actions to prevent the use of the port for the transport of military and dual-use materials to Israel. Their efforts have gained widespread support from both local groups and other trade unions in the region. In a statement on Monday, ENEDEP encouraged more people to join the mobilization, stressing that the presence of every dockworker at the protests is key. This call is especially significant ahead of the arrival of COSCO Shipping Pisces and the effort to stop the handling of its military cargo.

PAME joined the call for more protests, saying that the mobilization of Piraeus dockworkers shows the concrete impact of organized solidarity. “This is a clear example of how workers around the world can express practical solidarity with people resisting the imperialists’ unjust wars, of how they can strengthen their struggle as a united front against the merchants of war,” the trade union group wrote.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch