Haifa Port News

Ships sailing for Israel face a 10-fold jump in war risk premiums as the conflict in Gaza intensifies, prompting industry calls for the government to help ensure vital imports keep coming.Israel has vowed to annihilate Islamist group Hamas after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 220 hostages.Israeli forces have hit back with deadly air strikes and now a ground offensive on the narrow coastal strip, with growing fears the conflict could escalate and pull in the whole region.Israel…

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen has declared force majeure on a shipment to the Israeli port of Ashdod, with its Ever Cozy vessel diverted to Haifa further north due to safety concerns, according to a customer note.This is one of the first force majeures declared since Hamas Islamists launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, amid preparations by Israel's military to launch ground operations into Gaza in retaliation.The Ever Cozy was sailing towards Haifa port on Tuesday, according to data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas Islamists after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza…

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea is transporting American citizens fleeing war between Israel and Hamas.Sailing at the request of the U.S. embassy in Israel, the Rhapsody of the Seas arrived at Israel's Haifa Port on Monday morning, loaded an unknown number of passengers and departed en route to the Port of Limassol in Cyprus.Many flights departing Israel have been canceled, leaving countless trapped inside the country as violence rages on."The U.S. government is assisting U.S. nationals and their immediate family members with a valid travel document to depart Haifa via sea for Cyprus on October 16, 2023," the U.S. embassy in Israel said in a recent security alert.“Royal Caribbean Group is actively supporting the U.S.

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…

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone said its acquisition of Haifa Port with a local Israeli partner will boost trade lanes with the company's Indian ports and could better connect Europe and the Middle East in the longer term.After a two-year tender process, Adani Ports and local chemicals and logistics group Gadot clinched the 4.1 billion shekel ($1.18 billion) winning bid for Haifa Port, Israel announced on Thursday.Adani Ports will have a 70% stake and Gadot will hold the remaining 30%…

Israel said on Thursday it will sell Haifa Port, a major trade hub on its Mediterranean coast, to winning bidders Adani Ports APSE.NS of India and local chemicals and logistics group Gadot for 4.1 billion shekels ($1.18 billion).Gadot and Adani made it to the end of a two-year tender process that Israel hopes will lower import prices and help shorten notoriously long wait times at Israeli harbors."The privatization of the port of Haifa will increase competition at the ports and lower the cost of living…

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…

Four investment groups are looking to acquire the Israeli port of Haifa estimated to be valued as high as $600 million with formal bids expected towards October, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Israel is selling its state-owned ports and building new private docks in an effort to encourage competition and bring down costs. At the same time, warming ties with neighboring Arab countries are creating new trade opportunities and Haifa is well placed to become a regional…

Cruise operator Royal Caribbean is cancelling a new line that had been scheduled to run from Israel to Greece and Cyprus from next month, citing regional security concerns.The sailings out of Haifa port would have been the first for Royal Caribbean's new ship Odyssey of the Seas and were intended to exploit a travel corridor being set up among the three countries for travelers vaccinated against COVID-19."Due to the unrest in Israel and region, Odyssey has not been able to complete the preparations required," the company said late on Saturday in what appeared to be a reference to fighting over

Ports operator DP World gave an optimistic outlook for 2021 on Thursday, citing pent-up demand for cargo and an easing of geopolitical tensions after the change of U.S. administration.Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who is chairman and chief executive of the Dubai state-owned global ports operator, said that demand and supply chain capabilities had also improved as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.“You are always cautious ... (but) the outlook this year looks good for many reasons…

Israel received its most advanced warship on Wednesday, describing the German-made vessel dubbed "Shield" as a bulwark for vulnerable Mediterranean gas rigs as tensions with Tehran soar over the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist.The Saar-6 corvette that docked in Haifa port, and three of the same model to follow next year, will bring to 15 the number of missile boats deployed by an Israeli navy which, while small, carries out missions as far away as the Red Sea and the Gulf.Israel also wants to protect off-shore natural gas fields close to Lebanon…

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

The ship-to-shore crane paused above the cargo ship just arrived from Dubai, then set its load down on the pier in Israel.One after another, eight containers filled with electronics, cleaning supplies, iron, and firefighting equipment were unloaded off the MSC Paris, one of the first cargo ships to make the voyage between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.Just a few months ago, such a journey from Dubai's Jebel Ali port to the northern Israeli port city of Haifa would have been unthinkable.The countries announced a normalization deal in August which laid the ground for a potentially profitable new trade route.The diplomatic breakthrough stemmed from a strategic realignment of Middle East nations…

Dubai's DP World is partnering with an Israeli group to bid for one of Israel's two main ports and to examine opening a direct shipping line between the two Middle East states, it said on Wednesday.The announcement came a day after Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed an historic agreement to normalize ties, and marks a big development in trade and economic collaboration.Dubai state-owned DP World, which operates ports from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires, signed a series of agreements with Israel's DoverTower including a joint bid in the privatization of Haifa Port on the Mediterranean…

Striking workers shut down Israel's two main ports, leaving dozens of cargo ships stranded on Thursday in protest against the creation of competing foreign-run docks.At least 17 ships were waiting to unload at Ashdod port, with another 14 lined up to come in.

The 13,092 TEU containership Maersk Elba arrived at Haifa Port's Carmel Terminal, becoming the largest ship ever to dock in Israel. Maersk Elba entered the Carmel Terminal Thursday, and was operated on by four STS cranes with an average productivity of 136 containers per ship hour. This ship is part of the weekly service line operated by the 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC linking the ports of South Korea, China and Singapore to Haifa Port, and from there continues to the Adriatic ports. A video of Maersk Elba entering Haifa Port is available here.

Haifa Port in Israel is implementing a long-term plan amiing to entice cruise lines back to the "Gateway to the Holy Land" in consultation with Miami-based Access Cruise Inc., which provides sales and marketing representation to the cruise industry. Haifa Port and Access Cruise, along with the director of marketing of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in North America, met with executives from all the major North American cruise lines during the recent 2016 Seatrade Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. As a result of those meetings, Haifa Municipality and the Haifa Tourism Company board of directors have identified the cruise industry as an important target market for stimulating travel to the region.

The direct line shared by the world’s largest shipping companies Maersk and MSC is coming to Israel for the first time – as part of their massive 2M Alliance. Shipping giants MSC and Maersk have signed a cooperation agreement with the Haifa port. The agreement states that, starting from October, ships of the combined fleet will dock at the port on their way from China, South Korea, and Singapour to the Adreatic sea. The first ship, the Maersk Gustav, is the largest ship to dock in Haifa yet - 373 meters long, holding 10,000 containers. The agreement states that ships will dock in Haifa once a week. Haifa Port recently set an all-time record for productivity during one shift – a record output of 318.8 containers per ship hour was achieved by the Carmel Terminal’s six STS cranes…

Workers at Israel's state-owned Haifa Port went on strike on Monday, shutting one of the major trade gateways, over a government plan to build private, competing ports. "Every hour of the strike causes heavy damage and weighs on Israeli exports and imports," said Chamber of Shipping vice-president David Castle. His statement said it was not clear when the strike would end. Nearly all Israel's exports and imports are transported by ship, making the port workers unions among the most powerful in the country.

Workers at Israel's state-owned Haifa Port ended their strike on Tuesday, a day after they walked off the job in protest at a government plan to build private, competing ports. A spokesman for the Chamber of Shipping said the port workers returned after Israel's labour court ruled that the parties must hold talks over their employment conditions. Nearly all of Israel's exports and imports are transported by ship, making the port workers' unions among the most powerful in the country. Monday's stoppage caused disruption, with about 20 ships queuing to unload and a long line of trucks forming outside the port, waiting to transport goods. Tensions have been high in recent years over government plans to open two privately run ports along the Mediterranean next to Ashdod in the south and Haifa.

A Chinese construction firm began work on a new Mediterranean port in Israel on Tuesday, prompting a strike at Haifa docks further up the coast where the workers oppose the new competition. Israel's government, looking to break up the monopoly of two state-owned ports in Haifa and Ashdod through which nearly all exports and imports pass, recently approved creating private ports adjacent to the current ones. The move, it says, will bring down the cost of goods across the board. A subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Co is building the 3.3 billion shekel ($876 million) port in Ashdod, which is due to be completed in 2020. The port's operator has not been chosen and the contract for Haifa has yet to be awarded.

Nordic Maritime, a leading offshore service operator, today announced its MKIII subsea service vessel Mokul Nordic has been renamed Nordic Prince and has started a long term charter for Noble Energy after arriving in Haifa, Israel. Nordic Maritime was awarded a five year charter for the DP2 IMR Subsea vessel, from Noble Energy, the international oil services group, in October. “We are glad to announce that our vessel, Nordic Prince had arrived at Haifa Port and on-hire for the highly reputable international oil company, Noble Energy. This marks a good start to what we believe will be a strong collaboration between Nordic Maritime and Noble Energy. Nordic Prince is now installed with a WROV and all ready for the new project.” said Kjell Gauksheim, Executive Director of Nordic Maritime.

Nordic Maritime’s MKIII subsea service vessel, Mokul Nordic, has been renamed Nordic Prince and has started a long term charter for Noble Energy after arriving in Haifa, Israel. Nordic Maritime was awarded a five-year charter for the DP2 IMR Subsea vessel from Noble Energy in October. “We are glad to announce that our vessel Nordic Prince had arrived at Haifa Port and on-hire for the highly reputable international oil company, Noble Energy,” said Kjell Gauksheim, Executive Director of Nordic Maritime.