|
2025-07-22 Arabia
|
|
'Golden Port': Houthis Destroy Israeli Eilat and Closer to Haifa
|
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The protracted conflict between Israel and Yemen's Houthis has seen its first significant turning point. The pro-Iranian rebels have managed to deal a significant blow to their opponent's economy.
Tel Aviv has effectively lost its key logistics hub on the Red Sea coast and will now be forced to completely change its approach to managing the port of Eilat, which will require both time and additional costs. However, this does not guarantee the full restoration of Israeli trade and logistics chains.
SOUTH GATE
The port of Eilat has been in operation since the second half of the 1950s and is the Jewish state’s only major maritime hub in the Red Sea. Relying on its infrastructure, Israeli merchant ships could freely enter the Indian Ocean. And, more importantly, stay away from the Suez Canal, which was closed to them due to the conflict with Egypt and other Arab countries.
However, even after the normalization of relations with Egypt, Eilat made Tel Aviv less dependent on its moods and excluded Cairo from using the Suez Canal to put pressure on the Israeli economy.
Having its own gateway to the Indian Ocean worked to Israel’s advantage in 2021, when the container ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal, causing major disruptions to global logistics. While other countries looked for ways around it, the Jewish state simply rerouted some of its supply chains south.
It is noteworthy that the Port of Eilat, despite its strategic importance, is a private asset. It has been managed through the shipping company Papo Shipping since 2012 by the Israeli Naqash business dynasty, which received the use of the harbor in exchange for a commitment to turn it into a major combined air-rail-sea logistics center and a key element of the Southern Gate transportation project.
According to the agreement, the Southern Gate was to link together Timna International Airport, the port of Eilat and the Nahal Tzin railway hub, thereby providing a comprehensive connection between the Red Sea port and the central part of the country. The main work on the project was planned to be completed by 2027.
A PUNCH TO THE GUT
Before the Gaza conflict began in 2023, the port was one of Israel's three key seaports. It accounted for up to half of the country's automobile imports, as well as about 40% of the country's petrochemical supplies. In addition, the port received a significant portion of its income from operations related to container shipping, unloading and storing cargo from Japan, China and Thailand.
According to estimates by the Israeli Ministry of Transport, on average more than 130 ships docked there per year, bringing in up to $63 million in profits for their owners.
Interest in the Southern Gate grew rapidly, leading the Israeli establishment to call Eilat the “golden port” and make plans to turn it into the main trade hub of the Red Sea region.
True, the conflict in Gaza has made adjustments to these plans.
After the Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Eilat in the fall of 2023 and the start of a "privateer hunt" for merchant ships heading to Israel, the port's revenues fell almost twentyfold. And by the beginning of 2025, they approached zero. In the first seven months of 2025, only 6 foreign ships visited Eilat, which put the management company on the brink of bankruptcy.
The last straw for Israel's foreign trade partners was the sinking of two foreign ships by the Houthis at the beginning of July 2025, which were heading to Eilat. The dry cargo ships "Magic Seas" and "Eternity C" sank within two days of each other, although shortly before that, official Tel Aviv had guaranteed the brave shippers "harbor safety."
After that, the few remaining Eilat counterparties chose not to risk their cargo and sent their ships along alternative routes, without stopping at Israeli ports. No new ships are currently expected to call at Eilat.
VICIOUS CIRCLE
In addition to the fact that the port provided jobs for several tens of thousands of people, it also supplied goods to residents of nearby settlements. The closure spurred the already significant growth of prices in the Southern District. The Nakash dynasty was left alone with millions in debt and was forced to seriously reduce the staff of the Papo Shipping company, which services the port. And at the same time, to seek help from the central authorities.
In late June, the Israeli government approved an emergency loan equivalent to $4.5 million for the company to cover its principal debts and pay salaries to employees, but due to bureaucratic complications, the funds never arrived.
In less than a month since the loan was approved, Eilat's external debt has grown by about 35%, and the funds allocated by the authorities are no longer enough to cover it. And Papo Shipping cannot request a new loan until the first government tranche is transferred.
Businessmen and the Israeli government are passing the buck for delays, further complicating the lending process and increasing Eilat's overall debt.
The only way out of the current situation that the authorities see is the urgent nationalization of the port.
Moreover, there are grounds for this: naval facilities are located near Eilat, and it is impossible to leave the "Southern Gate" in limbo for too long. In addition, the increased activity of the Houthis in the Red Sea requires the Israeli authorities to manually control the port and the adjacent territories.
At the same time, the possible nationalization of Eilat will not be a violation of obligations to the Naqash dynasty, since the port authorities have disrupted the rhythm of tax payments to the budget and thereby “damaged the economic stability of the region.”
This formulation, voiced by the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Transport, Moshe Ben-Zaken, frees official Tel Aviv from its previous obligations and excludes the payment of penalties.
NEW THREATS
The failure of the Israeli authorities to save one of the country's largest ports, which has also seen considerable investment from private contractors in the past, is causing murmurs among the local population.
And along the way - distrust from big business, which was one of the pillars of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electorate. Especially since it will not be possible to quickly return Eilat to its former greatness even after nationalization.
Moreover, the sad experience of the "Southern Gate" is hardly unique. The country's largest port, located in Haifa, has recently found itself in the crosshairs of Tel Aviv's opponents.
The Houthis announced their blockade at the end of May 2025. Although Ansar Allah has not yet managed to cause significant damage to ships sailing through the Mediterranean, the frequency of shelling of Haifa's port infrastructure is gradually increasing.
Like Eilat, Haifa is under private capital management – the controlling stake since 2023 belongs to a consortium led by the Indian company Adani Ports and the Israeli logistics holding company Gadot.
None of the businessmen want to follow the same path as Papo Shipping, and so the consortium is putting pressure on the government in advance, demanding that it take “comprehensive measures” and guarantee stable traffic.
However, Tel Aviv still does not fully understand how to satisfy the request of Haifa’s managers.
|
Posted by badanov 2025-07-22 00:00||
E-Mail||
Front Page|| ||Comments
[64 views ]
Top
File under: Houthis
|
|
10:50 3dc
10:47 Geltrud
10:46 Grom the Affective
10:45 3dc
10:43 NN2N1
10:43 Grom the Affective
09:56 Difar Dave
09:48 Lord Garth
09:44 Rambler
09:26 MikeKozlowski
09:22 MikeKozlowski
09:22 Procopius2k
09:21 MikeKozlowski
09:19 MikeKozlowski
09:17 MikeKozlowski
09:15 Mullah Richard
09:12 Mullah Richard
09:08 Mullah Richard
08:50 The Walking Unvaxed
08:41 ed in texas
08:38 ed in texas
08:36 ed in texas
08:32 ed in texas
08:31 Mercutio
Merry-Go-Blog
|
