The CEO of the Israeli port of Eilat, Gideon Golber, said on Thursday that the port’s activity has declined by 85% since the Houthis in Yemen intensified their attacks on ships heading to Israel in the Red Sea.
The Houthi group says that it has escalated its attacks on ships heading to Israel to pressure the entry of aid to the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, after the occupation prevented its entry after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
The Houthis had also fired drones and missiles at Israel. The port of Eilat deals mainly with imports of cars and exports of potash coming from the Dead Sea, and it handles a small percentage of Israeli trade compared to the ports of Haifa and Ashdod on the Mediterranean.
But the port of Eilat is located next to Jordan’s only coastal access point to the sea at Aqaba, and provides Israel with a gateway to the eastern world without the need to navigate the Suez Canal.
Eilat was one of the first ports affected by Houthi operations, as more and more shipping companies redirected ships to avoid the Red Sea after the Houthis disrupted a major trade route through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Main artery
Reuters quoted Golber as saying that by closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the main shipping artery of the port of Eilat was closed, and thus the port lost 85% of its total activity.
The United States has since announced a multinational maritime coalition to protect this vital shipping lane.
“We still have a small number of ships to export potash, but I think with a destination in the Far East they will no longer travel in that direction and so that will also decrease,” Golber said.
He added: “Unfortunately, if this continues, we will reach a situation where there are no ships in the port of Eilat.”
Alternative route
Israeli officials say that the alternative route circumvents Africa (the Cape of Good Hope), extending the travel time to the Mediterranean by two to three weeks, and thus incurring additional shipping costs.
Golber noted that the port administration will discuss with all parties concerned how to maintain continuity of operation in Eilat, although this will require financial income. However, he is confident that they will find a way to do so. “If the coalition countries and Israel, God forbid, delay in finding a solution (to the Houthi attacks), it is unfortunate that we will likely have to furlough workers,” he said, adding that a small number of workers would be needed to service any ships that arrive.
In this context, Reuters quoted maritime sources yesterday as saying that shipping companies are still skeptical about the new international maritime coalition formed by the United States to confront attacks in the Red Sea, with many ships continuing to avoid the region or canceling their contracts.
The sources, including shipping and maritime security officials, said that only few practical details are known about the initiative launched by Washington the day before Tuesday, or whether it will be directly involved in the event of more armed attacks at sea.
“There are still a number of unknowns regarding the alliance,” said Corey Ranselm, CEO of British maritime risk and security consultancy Dryad Global. “We do not know specifically how many warships will be involved, how long it will take for those ships to reach the area, or the specific rules of engagement.” and the actual protection plan it will provide.”
He added: “This is a fairly small area globally, however, providing protection for commercial ships in this area could be a major task depending on the number of ships along with any changes in Houthi tactics.”
