Eilat port CEO signals mayday for financial support amid shipping halt
3 Min Read
Gideon Golber highlights that the port has been inactive for eight months due to ongoing attacks, resulting in a complete loss of revenue.
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An aerial view of the Eliat-Ashkelon oil terminal at the Red port city of Eliat, occupied Umm Rashrash, occupied Palestine, on February 9, 2021. (AFP)
The CEO of the Port of Eilat, Gideon Golber, urged the Israeli government during a meeting of the Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee on Sunday to provide financial assistance to the port, separate from loans that would require repayment later.
"The port has been non-operational for eight months due to attacks, meaning it has no revenue," he stated.
Additionally, he called for immediate government intervention, stressing that the port's closure was not due to mismanagement but because "coalition countries have lost control over it."
He also mentioned that the committee deliberated on the port's situation, acknowledging that Yemen has effectively blocked shipping to it.
Read more: What the West needs to know about Yemen's Ansar Allah
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Eilat Port has been subjected to frequent missile and drone attacks, originating not just from Yemen but also from Iraq and Bahrain, in solidarity with Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli genocide. These attacks have resulted in substantial economic losses for the port. As a consequence, major shipping companies have suspended their shipments to Eilat, particularly those destined for "Israel", thereby halting their maritime operations in the Red Sea region.
It is worth noting that Umm al-Rashrash [Eilat], known for handling car imports and potash exports from the Dead Sea, is located next to Jordan's sole coastal access point at Aqaba and serves as "Israel's" eastern gateway.
In December, the CEO of Eilat Port said as quoted by Reuters that there had been an 85% decline in operations since the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) initiated attacks on ships in the Red Sea. He indicated at the time that they might need to temporarily lay off employees if the situation persisted.
In the same context, Golber said in March that ever since Yemen began its operations in the Red Sea and closed the Bab al-Mandab Strait, all activities on the Eilat port have been halted, and ever since that happened, all settlers operating on it or using it have been out of a job.
He added that this port is responsible for around 50 to 55% of imported vehicles from the Far East, adding that the occupation exports around 1.8 to 2 million tons of potassium and phosphate from the Dead Sea. It also imports claves and sheep from Australia and they have some other secondary activities, Golber said.
Dimitri Lascaris, a Canadian lawyer and journalist, visited Eilat port on March 17 through 18 and reported that the Yemeni operations conducted by the Yemeni Armed Forces have indeed left the port devoid of any cargo ships.
Read next: Yemeni operations in Red Sea 'suffocating' Eilat port
