The state-owned owned Bahri Yanbu cargo ship stopped in Kent under the cover of darkness.

Protesters had been awaiting the ships arrival at Tilbury Docks, Essex, but it made port in Sheerness instead.

Amnesty International said the visit raised ‘serious concerns’ and asked what UK authorities knew about the Bahri Yanbu’s cargo.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s arms control director, said: ‘This cloak-and-dagger docking raises a whole host of very serious concerns over the UK’s possible part in continuing to fuel the deadly conflict in Yemen.

‘The Bahri Yanbu, a known arms delivery ship, hastily switched ports and was in and out of Sheerness under cover of darkness in less than three hours.’

Yemen has been in a state of civil war since 2014, when a rebel movement known as the Houthis captured the country’s capital Sanaa and overthrew the government.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of countries in carrying out airstrikes against the rebels in a bid to overthrow the Houthis and restore what it claims is Yemen’s ‘legitimate government’.

The Saudi-led bombing campaign has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, with a Saudi blockade leaving millions in the country at risk of starvation.

The controversial cargo carrier spent just two hours and 12 minutes berthed in the Kent port.

Vessel-tracking information suggests the Bahri Yanbu arrived in Sheerness about 9.14pm and left about 11.27pm, apparently for Cherbourg in France on its way home to the Persian Gulf.

Mr Sprague added: ‘This shadowy docking operation occurred while answers to vital legal questions were still being sought from the Government about the ship’s cargo and the licences that may have been issued to allow for weapons to pass through UK ports.

‘What did the UK authorities know about the Bahri Yanbu’s cargo when it docked at Sheerness last night?

‘Were there arms bound for Yemen already on it, and were more weapons loaded aboard?’

Since leaving Houston, Texas the Saudi cargo ship has called at Wilmington, North Carolina, Dundalk, Maryland and then on to Saint John in Canada and Bremerhaven in Germany.

Protesters had gathered in Tilbury on Wednesday morning with anti-war banners to demonstrate against the Bahri Yanbu’s expected arrival.

Andrew Smith from Campaign Against Arms Trade said: ‘This ship should never have been allowed to dock in the UK.
‘If it is carrying weapons for use in Yemen then they could be used in war crimes and abuses for years to come.’

More protests against the Bahri Yanbu in the French port are expected, according to Amnesty International.

The charity said ‘secrecy’ surrounding the ship’s current contents meant it could not be sure if it is currently carrying weapons, but said the vessel’s ‘deplorable record’ means there is a risk that it is.

The charity believes that on its voyage through European ports in May 2019 the Bahri Yanbu’s was carrying 47 million US dollars of US-manufactured military components and equipment, much of it linked to military aircraft.

An open letter to French prime minister Edouard Philippe from Human Rights Watch calls for guarantees that any cargo loaded onto the ship at Cherbourg ‘will not be used unlawfully against Yemeni civilians’.

In June 2019, the UK suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its partners after the Court of Appeal found it had approved the export of weapons without assessing whether the Saudi-led coalition had broken international law.

A Government spokesperson has previously said that it takes its arms export responsibilities ‘very seriously’ and issues export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria.

They added: ‘We are fully committed to complying with the 20 June Court of Appeal judgment. While we appeal the judgment, we will not grant any new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia and other coalition partners for items which might be used in the conflict in Yemen.’