Spain Denies Port Call for Ship Taking Arms to Israel

Spain has refused permission for an Israel-bound ship carrying arms to call at the southeastern port of Cartagena, Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Thursday.

The Marianne Danica was carrying a cargo of arms to Israel and had requested permission to call at Cartagena on May 21, Puente said on X.

It was carrying nearly 27 tons in explosive material from India's Madras, El Pais reported.

The Foreign Ministry, which Puente said denied the authorisation, did not immediately reply to repeated requests for comment.

H. Folmer & Co, the company operating the Marianne Danica, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The reports come amid a spat between the ruling Socialists and their hard-left partners over allowing the transit of vessels carrying arms to Israeli ports.

(Reuters - Reporting by David Latona and Charlie Devereux; Editing by Josie Kao)