Ship believed to be Israel-bound leaves Tacoma port

TACOMA — A military ship demonstrators believed to be bound for Israel left the Port of Tacoma Monday evening after hundreds of people protested its departure.

Roughly 300 people were gathered at the port entrance by late Monday morning to prevent longshoremen from loading cargo onto the MV Cape Orlando, a U.S. military supply vessel. The 635-foot vessel is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet and has been used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The ship left the port Monday evening, and port operations returned to normal Tuesday, according to the Port of Tacoma.

During the 12-hour protest, some people marched in circles, some waved Palestinian flags and some held signs that read “No Aid for Israel,” “Ceasefire now” and “Resist Until Return.”

“We are here today because we are blocking a military vessel that has come from the Oakland dock up to Tacoma,” said Bissan Barghouti of the group Samidoun Seattle.

Protesters believe the ship is transporting military equipment and weapons to Israel. Barghouti said they were not sure where the weapons were located and Port of Tacoma officials did not respond to requests for more information.

The Seattle Times has not independently confirmed the ship’s destination or its purpose.

“But we do know by our presence here, we are blocking the workers from being able to do their job and load the ship,” Barghouti said.

The protest began at 5 a.m., said Alon Lapid of Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return, or SUPER, at the University of Washington.

Protesters used cars to shut down roads and gates, forcing ship workers to turn around. Police were staged behind a fence at the terminal, according to The (Tacoma) News Tribune.

Lapid pointed to recent protests held in Seattle, Olympia and Washington, D.C., that drew thousands of people.

Every weekend, organizations including Samidoun Seattle and SUPER UW have organized rallies calling for an end to the siege, a cease-fire and cutting off U.S. military aid to Israel, “including Washington state’s local ties to the Israeli occupation,” Lapid said.

“We’re intending to stay here specifically until we get confirmation that the weapons will not be loaded in the boat,” Lapid said. “But we anticipate that there will be future actions that we will be called upon to take up.”

The Cape Orlando was previously in Oakland, Calif., where protesters delayed it from leaving for nine hours on Friday by attempting to board the ship and tampering with mooring lines, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.

In June 2021, protesters planned to block an Israeli cargo ship bound for Seattle during deadly clashes in the Middle East. The ZIM San Diego, owned and operated by Israeli shipping company ZIM, was scheduled to dock at Harbor Island on June 2, 2021, The Seattle Times reported at the time. Seattle police arrested 10 people after that protest, KUOW reported.

Material from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report.