Zim would axe its Eilat port cargo service in the summer. would operate instead a new line to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. announced last week that it would axe its Eilat port cargo service only in the summer. The announcement came following a request made by trade union (Histadrut) chairman Ofer Eini and Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh.
The port of Eilat, located on the shores of the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea, is Israel’s southern gateway to Africa, Australia and the Far East.
The delay in closing the company’s Eilat service is, according to Zim, intended to enable the Eilat Port Company Ltd. to find alternative operators to replace the reduced container traffic by Zim.
Zim added in a press release that it would operate instead a new line to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa. It is understood that the company planned to move its container line from the port of Eilat to Djibouti at the southern tip of the Red Sea, and to Ashdod and Haifa.
The port director general, Gideon Gulver, who argued in January against the decision saying that the port should be regarded as a national strategic assets and if Zim would decide to cut off its South African container service it would not only be a financial loss but also serious damage to the port work mix.
Gulver thanked Zim last week for its decision to delay the planned move noting that the port has now to do its utmost to locate alternative shipping services.
Eilat Port workers committee chairman Avi Atias said in response that the move was no real solution, but only an extension to the government to strengthen the port of Eilat and town.
