On 18 June, the Italian authorities in Gioia Tauro, Calabria, inspected and seized some containers on the cargo ship MSC Arina at the request of the US. The ship, which belongs to the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company based in Geneva) and flies the flag of Panama, left Shenzhen, China, on 30 April and reached the Mediterranean via Cape Town and the Strait of Gibraltar. Before arriving in Gioia Tauro, the ship called at Valencia and Barcelona. The ship left the Italian port on 20 June 2024 and is now on its way to Tangier, Morocco. It did not call at any Libyan port. According to Italian media reports, the containers are said to contain weapons, including possibly combat drones, worth several million dollars, which Italian media reports were to have been brought to Benghazi from Russia via China.
