UK based insurance company NorthStandard is insuring two vessels carrying over 2,000 tonnes of military material destined for Israel to be used in its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Yesterday, the Palestinian-led BDS movement issued a statement on the Holger G, a vessel flagged by Portugal and sailing off the coast of Malta reportedly carrying approximately 440 tonnes of arms for Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems and its subsidiary ammunition producer IMI Systems.

Now, Irish investigative outlet The Ditch has revealed a second vessel, the Ocean Gladiator, flagged by the US and currently off the coast of Gibraltar, is reportedly transporting 1,605 tonnes of munitions. This is the largest shipment of munitions to Israel since October 2023.  

On board the Ocean Gladiator are:
– 61 containers weighing 1,345 tonnes of bomb shells; 
– More than 222 tonnes of brass ammunition cartridge cases;
– More than 24 tonnes of M9 ammunition links;
– Eight tonnes of military-grade potassium nitrate; and
– Six tonnes of Barium Sulfate.

Both vessels are insured by the same UK based insurance company, NorthStandard. Under international law, corporations have a duty not to knowingly aid, abet, or otherwise assist genocide, including by providing goods, services, financing, or logistical support that substantially contribute to genocidal acts. 

Yesterday, the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) placed the third party liability-insurers NorthStandard Limited on notice of the legal and regulatory risks around providing such cover for the Holger G, in light of the UK Notice to Exporters 2024/20, which suspends licenses for the export of certain military goods to Israel and makes it an offence for UK persons to facilitate such supply.

ELSC demands NorthStandard suspend the insurance coverage for the vessels transporting military or dual-use goods whose export to Israel is prohibited under UK law and implement enhanced due diligence procedures for the future. 

ELSC, with the support of Portuguese Lawyers Carmo Afonso and Madalena Vaz da Silva, has filed a criminal complaint with the Portuguese judicial authorities against the registered German owner, Gerdes Bereederungs GmbH & Co. KG, of the Portuguese-flagged Holger G (IMO 9995894).

Mahmoud Nawajaa, the General Coordinator of the BDS movement, stated: 

“Palestinians urgently call supporters globally to mount pressure on NorthStandard, the company insuring the Ocean Gladiator and the Holger G, which together are transporting over 2,000 tonnes of military materiel to Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems and its subsidiary IMI for use by Israel in its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“We call on activists in states along the vessels’ routes to immediately mobilize and demand the immediate seizure of the illegal cargo. We must maintain pressure on complicit governments to stop the vessels and impose legal, targeted sanctions on Israel, including a comprehensive military embargo.

“The “ceasefire” has not ended Israel’s killings of Palestinians and aggression against neighbouring states. The genocide in Gaza is ongoing. Only accountability and targeted sanctions will stop Israel’s crimes.”

Giovanni Fassina, ELSC Executive Director, said:

This case is critical because it goes to the heart of states’ obligations to prevent the transfer of weapons that contribute to genocide. While this legal action is necessary, it is not sufficient on its own—its impact depends on the collective power of civil society, movements standing behind it to mobilise pressure and ensure the law is enforced in practice, not just on paper.

Background: 

For more on the legal obligations of corporations in front of Israel’s genocide, see Dr Irene Pietropaoli study “Obligations of Third States and Corporations to Prevent and Punish Genocide in Gaza”.

For more on the legal obligations of flag, port and coastal states according to the Law of the Sea, see the ASCOMARE legal opinion.