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A Saudi ship arrived at the Spanish port of Santander early on Monday without its French arms cargo, Reuters reported, after a human rights group prevented the weapons from being loaded.

The French rights group ACAT launched a legal challenge on Thursday in a bid to prevent the French weapons from being shipped, alleging that the guided missiles and tanks were being used against civilians in Yemen and therefore breaches a UN treaty.

The case was dismissed by a French judge, according to Reuters, but the Saudi vessel Bahri-Yanbu set off for Spain from Le Havre in northern France shortly after the ruling without the weapons in question.

Joseph Brehem, lawyer for ACAT, told Reuters the case was being filed to prevent the French arms from being loaded onto the Bahri-Yanbu, a vessel owned by the Saudi defence and interior ministries.

"The article says that one country cannot authorise the transfer of weapons if at the time of the authorisation, the country knew that weapons could be used to commit war crimes," Brehem said.

French rights group ASER is also filing a case against the arms deal.

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Wednesday that the Saudi ship is due to receive the arms this week, which were ordered several years ago.

But France has signed up to the Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits the sale of weapons to conflicts were war crimes are taking place.

President Emmanuel Macron has previously insisted that French weapons are only being used by Saudi Arabia for defensive purposes and within the kingdom's borders.

"Most of the weapons that have been sold are used inside (Saudi) territory or at the border, but they are used in the conflict," he said, according to Reuters.

Belgian leaders are meanwhile mulling the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, national news said on Saturday, after it was reported they had been used in Yemen.

The issue of Saudi arms sales divides European governments, with French President Macron defending such sales as part of "the fight against terrorism".

Germany however suspended arms sales to Riyadh after the killing last year of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, posing a problem for European partners as this could affect joint weapon production.

The Yemen war has cost tens of thousands of lives since it broke out in 2014 and escalated with the Saudi-led coalition intervention in 2015.

The war has led to what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 3.3 million people still displaced and 24.1 million - more than two-thirds of the population - in need of aid.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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