Mass blockade in Piraeus port hits Israel’s military supply chain

Dockworkers in Greece are the latest to take action to stop war material reaching the Israeli army as it intensifies its genocidal campaign in Gaza. A mass blockade of Piraeus port, called by dockworkers’ unions and supported by Palestine solidarity and anti-war activists and local trade unionists on 16 July stopped the transshipment of steel destined for Israel Military Industries. In response to a call-out from dockworkers union ENEDEP, hundreds of activists from Piraeus Labour Center, the Stop the War – Solidarity with Palestine Alliance, the March to Gaza Greece, the BDS movement, radical left party ANTARSYA and the Coordination of Labor Resistance gathered on 14 July to attempt to block the unloading of military materials bound for Israel from the ship Evengolden. The cargo was set to be loaded onto another ship, the Cosco Pisces due to leave Piraeus on 16 July. Dock workers called for another mass mobilisation that night which stopped the loading of the Israeli cargo. ENEDEP members clearly stated that they would unload all containers, except those containing war material. 

A port worker said: “We call on all workers in every workplace and especially in transportation, as we said before, in ports, on trains, at airports and all port workers in all ports of the world, to take measures , there are such examples, so that we do not become another cog in the war machine. We have the ability to stop it.” 

The Greek dock workers’ action follows similar mobilisations in ports in France, Italy, Morocco and Sweden. 

What you can do:

• Send a message of solidarity to the Greek dockworkers organisations via action@menasolidaritynetwork.net
• Download a leaflet version of this article [Greek dockers leaflet] and a poster for a solidarity picture [Port workers solidarity sign]

Sudanese port workers call for solidarity and action to stop arms and military materials fuelling war on the peoples of Palestine and Sudan

We, Sudan’s port workers, address you from the heart of war and collapse. Since April 2023, a brutal war between the army and Rapid Support Forces that stemmed from our 2018 revolution, has killed many thousands, displaced over 15 million. Hospitals bombed. Schools destroyed. Farms burnt. The means of production shattered. Over 25 million face starvation, and famine has been declared by the UN in 10 areas, with 17 more at risk. Public services have collapsed, wages and pensions have stopped, and union rights have been frozen. Now, remnants of the old regime are trying to take back control of our unions.

This war is fuelled by foreign arms deals and political support, while the people face devastation alone. Amidst economic collapse and soaring prices, there are secret plans to privatise the port and silence workers’ voices. But we remain committed to our unions and the fight for workers’ rights.

We stand with the people of Palestine against the genocide carried out by the Zionist state with imperialist backing. The same global system that fuels war in Sudan profits from the destruction in Gaza.

We salute port workers in Piraeus (Greece), Genoa (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Marseille (France), Casablanca (Morocco), Koper (Slovenia), Ghent & Zeebrugge (Belgium), and Tacoma & Oakland (US) who refused to load weapons bound for Israel — showing real worker-to-worker solidarity.

To workers in Britain and beyond, we need your solidarity:

• Pressure your governments to stop arms exports and support for war regimes.

• Join the boycott of companies arming these wars.

• Build global union links and deepen international worker solidarity.

From port to port, from local struggle to global solidarity — until victory.

Sudanese port workers

16 June 2025