Ari Rabinovitch News

A fire caused by nearby explosions broke out onboard a vessel southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Monday, before being contained, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British security firm Ambrey reported."The Master reports the fire onboard has been extinguished and that the crew are all safe. Coalition Forces are responding," UKMTO said in a recent update on the incident.It later added that the vessel was clear of the area and was proceeding to its…

Israel's Transport Ministry on Tuesday said it was seeking to clarify Chinese shipper COSCO's reported decision to halt shipping to Israel.Israeli media this week reported that COSCO had suspended shipping to Israel.

Chinese shipping firm COSCO has suspended shipping to Israel, Israeli financial news website Globes reported on Sunday.The report, which did not include details behind the decision, came as shipping lanes in the Red Sea have been disrupted by attacks carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.COSCO offices in Israel declined comment. Israeli port officials said they were checking the report.(Reuters - Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Steven Scheer; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

The backlog of ships is growing at Israeli ports while operations continue at most terminals amid preparations by the military to launch a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to data and sources.Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in retaliation for a rampage in which its fighters stormed through Israeli towns a week ago, shooting civilians and seizing scores of hostages in the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history.Israel has faced heavy rocket barrages including in the south of the country…

Activity at Israel's ports is slowing after Saturday's attacks by Islamist group Hamas on towns close to Gaza, with the cost of insurance premiums for Israeli shipments soaring amid tightening supplies of food stocks, according to sources and data.Israel's southern coastal city of Ashkelon, which has a small port well in range of Hamas rockets, is not allowing ships to enter, shipping sources said.While the main Israeli ports of Ashdod further up the coast and Haifa in the north…

Operations and services to Israeli ports are continuing without interruption although service interruptions may occur at short notice, Israeli container line Zim said on Wednesday.While around 90% of its operations are outside Israel, the company said this week it had offered its ships for the national needs of the country."Service interruptions may occur, on short notice, as a result of safety guidelines dictated by the Israeli authorities."(Reuters - Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Israel's port of Ashkelon and its oil terminal have been shut in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Islamist group Hamas, shipping and trade sources said on Monday.The port is located just over 10 kilometers (sox miles) from the border with the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli-linked tanker was lightly damaged in an attack last week by an airborne object while sailing through the Arabian Sea, the ship's manager confirmed on Saturday.Regional defence and security sources suspect the assault was carried out by Iran, which did not comment on the incident. Tehran has rejected accusations it was behind similar attacks in the past few years.The Liberian-flagged Campo Square had no cargo when it was hit late at night on Feb. 10, about 300 nautical miles off the coasts of India and Oman, the manager said in a statement.Shipping databases linked the tanker to Zodiac Maritime, which is controlled by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer."We can confirm that both the vessel and crew are safe and proceeding as per planned passage.

Israel and Lebanon have reached "a historic agreement" on their maritime border, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday. “This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border,” Lapid said. The deal will be brought before his security cabinet and government on Wednesday for their approval before it is reviewed by parliament, Lapid said in a statement.

The city of Haifa is set to become an increasingly significant east Mediterranean shipping hub, with Chinese and Indian firms buying into its ports as Israel normalizes ties with its Gulf Arab neighbors under a U.S. diplomatic push.Earlier this month, as U.S. President Joe Biden visited the Middle East, India's largest port developer Adani Ports and Israeli minority partner Gadot agreed to buy Haifa Port for 4.1 billion shekels ($1.18 billion).Its founder, Asia's richest man Gautam Adani…

Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said on Thursday that it would not allow oil tankers to enter its Red Sea resort of Eilat as planned under a deal with partners from the United Arab Emirates to transport crude from the Gulf to Europe via Israel.The announcement could lead to the cancellation of the deal, one of the biggest to emerge from the normalization of ties between Israel and the UAE last year. Environmentalists had petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to block the agreement.Signed between an Israeli state-owned company and a venture with Emirati and Israeli owners…

Dubai's DP World has pulled out of a joint bid with an Israeli company to privatize Israel's Haifa port, Israel's privatization body said.Israel is selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks in an effort to encourage competition and lower costs.DP World had signed an agreement with Israel Shipyards Industries for exclusive cooperation in the privatization of the Haifa port, one of Israel's two main sea terminals on its Mediterranean coast.But in a statement released late Thursday…

Israel has opened a new shipping port along its Mediterranean coast that will bring much needed competition to a sector plagued by delays and boost the country's standing as a regional trade hub.The 5.5 billion shekel ($1.7 billion) Bay Port at Haifa, which will be operated by Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), will enable larger classes of cargo ships, carrying 18,000 containers or more, to dock in Israel.The country is selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks in an effort bring down costs and cut above-average wait times for vessels to unload.

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members—a Briton and a Romanian—were killed.The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the incident as "clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping"."Iran should face up to the consequences of what they've done…

At least two tanker owners delivering crude oil to Israel have asked to divert from Ashkelon to the port of Haifa because of fighting, shipping sources said on Friday.The most serious fighting between Israel and Gaza militants since 2014 began on Monday after the enclave's ruling Hamas group fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.On Tuesday, an industrial area near Ashkelon was hit by…

A cargo ship owned by an Israeli company was damaged by a missile in the Arabian Sea on Thursday in what was suspected to be an Iranian attack, an Israeli security official said.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ship was on its way from Tanzania to India and was able to continue its voyage after the attack.The official did not provide further details.According to Israel's Ynet news website, the ship sailing under a Liberian flag did not sustain serious damage and Channel 12 news reported the ship is owned by XT Management, based in the port city of Haifa.Reuters could not reach officials at the company for comment.

Israel on Sunday broadened its search for the ship behind an oil spill that blackened its beaches with tar after investigators ruled out one of the suspected tankers.An Israeli team, in coordination with Greek authorities, carried out a surprise inspection of the Minerva Helen while it was docked at Athens’ Piraeus port. The ship is no longer suspected of being responsible for the spill, said Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.Minerva Helen’s operator had denied any…

Israel is trying to find the ship responsible for an oil spill that drenched much of its Mediterranean shoreline with tar, an environmental blow that will take months or years to clean up, officials said.Thousands of volunteers gathered on Sunday to remove the clumps of sticky black refuse from the pale beaches. Israel's military said it was deploying thousands of soldiers to help with the effort. Authorities warned everyone else to keep their distance until further notice.Environmental groups called it a disaster.

Israel and Lebanon resumed U.S.-mediated talks on Wednesday on a dispute about their Mediterranean Sea border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, the Israeli energy minister, and Lebanon’s state news agency said.The longtime foes held three rounds of talks last month hosted by the United Nations at a peacekeeper base in southern Lebanon which the world body and the United States have described as “productive”.But sources had said that gaps…

Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday held a second round of U.S.-mediated talks over their disputed sea border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, though sources said gaps between the sides remain large.Delegations from the long-time foes reconvened at a U.N. peacekeeper base to try to reach agreement over their maritime border after an initial meeting earlier this month.The sides presented contrasting maps on Wednesday outlining proposed borders that actually increased the size of the disputed area…

Israeli shipping firm Zim said on Wednesday it would start to offer direct service to Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).With its new line, Zim joins a number of international rivals—including MSC, Maersk—to announce they would offer a connection between Israel and the UAE since the countries agreed to normalize relations.Zim said its line will take cargo from Jebel Ali to Israel's Mediterranean Haifa port and, in the other direction, offer service from Israel and the eastern Mediterranean to the UAE.Zim is 32% owned by Kenon Holdings .Rani Ben Yehuda, a Zim executive vice presid

Alibaba Group Holdings and Israeli shipping group Zim have entered a strategic cooperation agreement for the direct purchase of sea freight, which will improve logistic services to merchants selling on Alibaba, Zim said on Monday.Zim said it will provide sea freight and services through a direct interface with the e-commerce giant’s logistics platform.The companies have been cooperating since earlier this year, the shipper said in a statement.Zim is 32% owned by Kenon Holdings.(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen)

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters.The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the United States stepped up pressure on political allies of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.They also come after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel…