Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to M/V Bahri Yanbu which moored at Tilbury docks around 7 May 2019 carrying cargo destined for Saudi Arabia, whether the Government determined whether that vessel was carrying licensable goods that required (a) a Standard Individual Transhipment Licence and (b) an Open General Transhipment Licence; and whether the Government issued Standard Individual Transhipment Licences for that shipment.

Article 17 of the Export Control Order 2008 sets out the scope of controls applying to goods in transit or being transhipped. As Saudi Arabia is neither an embargoed destination nor a destination subject to stricter transit controls under the Order, a transhipment licence would not be required for military goods provided certain conditions are met. These conditions are principally that the goods were legally exported from the country of export (in this case, Belgium) and that they remain in the UK for a period of less than 30 days.

We have no reason to believe these conditions were not met and therefore no transhipment licence was required.