An Irish company insured a ship so it could deliver 440 tonnes of munitions to Israel last month.
Amnesty International warned the Holger G’s cargo could “contribute to the ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip”. It couldn’t make its journey without mandatory insurance.
British-headquartered NorthStandard Ltd is one of the world's largest marine insurers and its Irish subsidiary NorthStandard EU DAC provided the Holger G’s cover.
The Dublin operation
The Ditch reported in November last year that the Holger G was carrying artillery projectiles and mortar bomb components to Elbit Systems, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) largest weapons supplier.
Commercial cargo ships, including the Portuguese-registered Holger G, are required under EU law to carry protection and indemnity insurance.
Records obtained by The Ditch confirm that NorthStandard’s Dublin operation insures the German-owned Holger G.
Amnesty International has called on states to refuse the ship port.
“States must prevent the Portuguese-flagged Holger G vessel – which is carrying munition components bound for Israel – from docking at their ports, given the clear risk that its cargo would contribute to the ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, as well as to war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians,” said Amnesty International on 18 December, 2025.
The ship arrived in Haifa on 23 December, the same day the IDF killed 50 Palestinians at a refugee camp in Gaza.
It was allowed to dock at Egypt’s Port of Alexandria on Christmas Day, just two days after delivering munitions to Israel, and at the Spanish-controlled Port of Ceuta last Friday.
NorthStandard NorthStandard told The Ditch that it doesn’t insure illegal activity.
“NorthStandard provides third party liability insurance on a mutual, not for profit basis to vessels engaged in lawful trades. The cover compensates third parties (not the shipowner) who suffer loss as a result of a maritime accident eg pollution, damage to property, death and injury.
“NorthStandard does not provide insurance for trades that take place in breach of applicable (UN, UK, US and or EU) sanctions or is otherwise unlawful,” said the spokesperson.
