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The EU Commission has admitted that EU vessels fish in Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco. Western Sahara Resource Watch demands an immediate halt to the fishing, until the agreement has been corrected to clearly exclude the territory offshore Western Sahara.
Published 03 July 2008

"It is surprising that mainly Bergen-owned Gearbulk sails for the occupying power Morocco". Read here editorial in one of Norway's biggest newspapers, Bergens Tidende, 29th of June 2008.

Published 01 July 2008
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This photo, taken in Port of Lyttleton, New Zealand on June 20th, shows the vessel Pacific Victory offloading phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. 
Read also: Another Hong Kong vessel involved in plundering.

Published 01 July 2008

"EU - and Denmark - can not on the one hand support the UN\'s criticism on Marocco\'s illegal occupation of Western Sahara and simultanously, on the other hand, make a fisheries agreement with Marocco that totally ignores Western Sahara's rights to their own resources" states member of European Parliament\'s Development Committee, Socialist People’s Party's Margrete Auken.

Published 28 June 2008
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See photographs of the Gearbulk chartered vessel Simge Aksoy discharging phosphates from occupied Western Sahara in Port of Tauranga, New 23rd of June 2008.

Published 25 June 2008

Built to keep the Sahrawi from their own land, the berm that bisects Western Sahara is a potent symbol of Morocco's determination to hold on to Africa's last colony in the face of long-standing - but weak - international pressure. Ivan Broadhead reports. South China Morning Post, 11th of May, 2008.

Published 21 June 2008
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In May, the Hong Kong based company Jinhui Shipping regretted having carried out phosphate shipments from Western Shara, and said they would never do it again. Here is an other Hong Kong company caught red-handed.

Published 21 June 2008
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Irish Member of European Parliament, Kathy Sinnott, demands that the occupation of Western Sahara must end and that the Morocco-EU fisheries agreement be reviewed before the EU gives any so-called 'Advanced Status' to Morocco.

Published 21 June 2008

Western Saharan activists are targeting Australia\'s reliance on their homeland\'s richest natural resource. The region and its phosphate reserves were illegally annexed by neighbouring Morocco in 1975 and activists have travelled to Australia to raise awareness about the continuing occupation. See 7:30 report on Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 June 2008 here.

Published 20 June 2008
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PRESS RELEASE: 29 parliamentarians from UK, Norway and New Zealand this morning sent a letter to the shipping company Gearbulk, urging the company to stop their phosphate shipments from occupied Western Sahara.

Published 20 June 2008
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A statement was unanimously adopted at the Norwegian Socialist Left Party\'s National Board meeting today, 16th of june 2008, asking Gearbulk to terminate its engagement in Western Sahara. The Socialist Left Party is the second biggest party in the Norwegian coalition government. Read the statement here.
Published 16 June 2008
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Sahrawis in Norway are asking Bergen-owned Gearbulk shipping company to stop trading with Western Sahara. They believe such trade maintains the brutal occupation.

Published 16 June 2008
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Three Norwegian shipping companies have apologized and stopped their operations in occupied Western Sahara. However, the Bergen-owned company Gearbulk continues their controversial transports. Next week, yet another Gearbulk vessel is due to arrive in a New Zealand harbour with phosphates. The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara argues that the Sahrawi population has suffered a financial loss amounting to 200 million USD, as a result of the shipments of this shipping company alone. Norwatch, 12 June 2008.
Published 15 June 2008
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3 stowaways -probably Moroccan- are now in police custody in Norway after arrving in port of Horten, Norway on 3rd of June. They had hidden in a vessel with fish meal from El Aaiun in occupied Western Sahara, and were discovered as the vessel discharged its cargo in Latvia.

Published 13 June 2008
Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace have hijacked a fishing vessel in the Swedish port of Gothenburg, which was to fish off Western Sahara. The Cook Island-registered vessel is accused of \"piracy\", environmental destruction and violating Swedish embargo on fishing off the occupied territory. Afrol News, 12 June 2008.
Published 13 June 2008
Press release, Greenpeace Sweden - Greenpeace is blocking a Swedish pirate vessel that is fishing illegally in the waters of Western Sahara. 20 Greenpeace activists are preventing the Nordic IV from leaving the port of Fiskebäck by blocking the quay and having activists in a rubber boat.

Read also: Afrol: Western Sahara-bound fishing vessel hijacked
Published 11 June 2008
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People from Greenpeace Wednesday afternoon prevented the fishing vessel Nordic IV to leave the harbour in Fiskebäck, Gothenburg, Sweden. Two activists have chained themselves to the vessel's anchoring poles. Gothenburg Post, 11 June 2008 

Published 11 June 2008
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Read more about Gearbulk's involvement in Western Sahara, and the vessel Simge Aksoy here. As of June 2008, the vessel can have transported phosphates from Western Sahara for more than 200,000 million US dollars.

Published 10 June 2008
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Check how the phosphate prices have increased almost eight-fold over the last 14 month period. Annual income from the Moroccan phosphate mines in occupied Western Sahara now approaches 1,2 billion USD.
Published 05 June 2008
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A third international shipping company has bowed into pressure to quit its assignments in ports in occupied Western Sahara. The Hong Kong-based shipping company Jinhui Shipping thus follows Norway\'s two shipping companies Arnesen Shipbrokers and R-Bulk, which have stopped shipping out phosphates from the territory. More are expected to follow. Afrol News, 5 june 2008.

Published 05 June 2008