Office Address
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
Phone Number
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
Email Address
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
123/A, Miranda City Likaoli Prikano, Dope
+0989 7876 9865 9
+(090) 8765 86543 85
info@example.com
example.mail@hum.com
The
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have disrupted cargo traffic between Europe and
Asia, increasing shipping times, costs and fuel consumption. This has forced
port operators to adapt to altered schedules. For the Red Sea port of Eilat,
Israel, the disruption has been much more severe: its operator is laying off
half of its workforce because of a sharp drop in business.
On Wednesday, 20 March, Israel's
Histadrut Labor Federation said that the managers of Port of Eilat intend to
lay off 60 out of 120 employees. “The port management is trying to take advantage
of the war situation and harm the livelihood of dedicated workers in the
southern periphery," asserted Nir Eisenberg, head of the maritime
transport workers' division of Histadrut.
Port of Eilat has lost no less than
85 percent of its traffic since the Houthi campaign against Western shipping
began. Houthi
forces have pledged to attack Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea, and Eilat can
only be accessed from the east through the Red Sea. Vessels arriving from the
west can also call at Israel's Mediterranean ports, without paying Suez Canal
fees to reach Eilat.
Accordingly,
ro/ro imports have plummeted. Eilat handles eastern car imports for the Israeli
market, and last year it brought in 150,000 cars via the Red Sea route. So far
this year, the number is zero, according to Israeli business outlet Calcalist.
Eilat
Port CEO Gideon Golber told Middle East Monitor that if the Israeli government
did not step in to pay all salaries, the enterprise would have no choice but to
impose layoffs. "I hoped the coalition countries would have solved the
[maritime security] issue in a few months, but they are not solving the
problem," he said.
Eilat is also within missile range of
Houthi forces, and has come under attack directly. On Sunday, a Houthi cruise missile
penetrated Israeli missile defense systems and struck north of Eilat, causing
no serious damage. The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the attack and said in
a statement that it is investigating why the missile was not shot down.
On
Thursday, Israeli air defenses shot down a suspicious aerial target off the
coast of Eilat, before it could reach shore.
