Key Bay is now heading to Las Palmas
Article image
After a long stay-over in Mauritania, the chemical tanker 'Key Bay' is now on its way to the EU with fish oil from occupied Western Sahara. First stop: Las Palmas.
Published 14 January 2017


key_bay_06.01.2017e_350.jpgOn 13 January 2016, the vessel was heading in a speed of 11 knots north direction the EU from Nouadhibou. On the evening of 13 January, it was confirmed that the first stop is Las Palmas. It is estimated to arrive Las Palmas at 14:00 this afternoon, 14 January.

In general, near all fish oil transports of this kind have ended up in Fécamp, Normandy, France. It is not known what the purpose of the stop in Las Palmas will be - probably to bunker fuel.

WSRW earlier wrote that Key Bay had picked up a cargo of fish oil in El Aaiun harbour in Western Sahara. The photo to the right shows the vessel before picking up the cargo.

When it entered El Aaiun on 6 January its draught was 5,2 meters, while after leaving El Aaiun on 8 January it was 5,4 meters. The change means it has most probably loaded in El Aaiun.

On the 8 January, the vessel headed towards Nouadhibou, Mauritania. After 5 days in the North-Mauritanian port, the vessel is now on its way into EU waters.

The vessel undertakes such controversial transport approximately twice a year. This is the first time after the landmark judgement of the Court of Justice of the EU that WSRW observes a transport from the occupied territory.

A large part of the territory of Western Sahara has been under illegal occupation by Morocco since the 1970s.

It is normal for the vessel to make those 3 stops: Tan Tan, El Aaiun, Nouadhibou, before heading to France.

US eyes minerals in occupied Western Sahara

Seeking to position itself as a key supplier of strategic minerals for Western powers, Morocco has signed a new agreement with the United States that covers Western Sahara’s waters and the critical minerals harboured there.  

13 February 2026

TAQA-Moeve obtains land in occupied Western Sahara

Morocco’s push for green hydrogen has taken a decisive step forward - on territory it does not legally own.

12 February 2026

EU-Morocco Statement: autonomy without self-determination, law without lawfulness

A joint statement that came out of last week’s EU-Morocco Association Council asks readers to believe in a fiction: that an undefined autonomy plan imposed by an occupying power can satisfy the right to self-determination, and that respect for international law can coexist with the systematic ignoring of the EU’s own highest court.

02 February 2026

Greenland Yes, Western Sahara No? The EU’s self-determination test

As the European Union rightly rallies behind Greenlanders’ right to decide their own future in the face of external pressure, a test of the EU’s real commitment to self-determination is quietly unfolding in Brussels.  

22 January 2026