Tova Cohen News

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)

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…

TEL AVIV - Israel's largest seaport in the southern city of Ashdod is fully operational, with containers being unloaded at a similar pace to a year ago despite the global outbreak of coronavirus, the port's chairwoman said.Some 97% of cargo to Israel, by weight, arrives by ship and the government has assured the country there will be no shortages of essential products.There are currently 25 ships at the port and since the start of 2020 some 200,000 containers have been unloaded…

Israeli dockworkers on Sunday ended a three-day strike that had shut down the country's two main seaports after a court ordered them back to work.Officials at the Mediterranean ports of Ashdod and Haifa said operations had resumed and that cargo ships were once again being unloaded.The workers had protested against the creation of competing foreign-run docks.The government, frustrated by labour disputes that have disrupted Israel’s trade arteries for years, gave the green light in 2013 to build new terminals next to the state-run ports of Ashdod and Haifa.Union leaders have been negotiating wi

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases…

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases, could have repercussions for other sectors such as supermarkets and chemical firms, which use similar methods and are keen to stave off any suspicion of collusive behaviour.

Analysts say intelligent analytics could give firm an edge. A young Israeli technology company believes the expertise it has built up in tracking ships for governments and security agencies could help it break into the much larger market for providing information on seaborne commodities. Windward, founded just over five years ago by two former Israeli navy officers, plans to launch a maritime information service later this year for banks, investors and trading houses, its chief executive Ami Daniel told Reuters in an interview. About 90 percent of global trade is transported by sea, but there is little visibility on what ships are doing and what cargo they carry.

An Israeli exploration group reported on Sunday it has discovered another large natural gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast. The group, led by Isramco Negev and Modiin Energy, said that a resource report showed there could be an estimated total of 8.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas at the Daniel east and west fields. Large natural gas deposits have been discovered in nearby waters in recent years. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen)

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.

Israel's Finance Ministry and Israel Corp have reached a compromise regarding the government's "golden share" in the country's biggest shipping company Zim, paving the way for a $3 billion debt restructuring plan to move ahead. The government last week appealed an Israeli court ruling regarding the golden share but the two sides said on Tuesday they have reached a compromise that is similar to the original court ruling. As a result, Israel Corp said in a statement, it has asked the district court to approve the restructuring arrangement it has reached with its shareholders. If the court approves, Israel Corp said it plans to carry out its part of the deal by the end of Tuesday.