Documentation released by the US military after the attack in Yemen, February 4, 2024/Reuters
Since the Houthis began their attacks on ships in the Red Sea in October, almost all work at the port of Eilat has been shut down, and ships have stopped visiting it for fear of damage on the way.
The Port Workers' Committee, incorporated in the Histadrut, announced a fight against the port management's plans to lay off 60 of its 120 workers, against the background of the crisis.
The Chairman of the Histadrut Transport Workers' Union, Attorney Eyal Yadin, said that "for many years, the valuable and professional port workers brought the port's results, and created fat dividends and bonuses for the shareholders and the port management. It was true that during this time the company would have embraced the workers and their families, and not chooses the easy way of attempting mass layoffs. We will not give it a hand."
But at the same time, the government Israel Ports Company (Hani) continues to plan future development of the port, which will help it after the war and the cessation of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Hani began planning the construction of a new floating dock in the port, which will be deployed into the sea and will allow the port of Eilat to receive cargo ships of various types In addition to those that the port is prepared to receive today, a few general cargo ships and mainly ships for transporting vehicles.
The choice of a floating dock structure should reduce and speed up the work, and reduce the possible damage to the coral reserves and fish schools in the Gulf of Eilat, in the absence of the need to drill support columns in the seabed.
At the same time, the planning deals with the expansion of the harbor hinterland and the port's logistics areas, in order to support the increase in activity. This is in continuation of the agreement Hani signed with the Eilat municipality last year, to plan the expansion of the port's infrastructure and its possibility to receive additional ships and cargo and in significant volumes beyond its current capacity.
Port of Eilat. The government-owned Israel Ports Company (HANI) continues to plan future development/Keenan Cohen, Ohad Bar
Today Hani announced that it will make a multi-year investment and will join as one of the leading entities that will accompany the maritime innovation center, SeaNovation, which opened in Eilat with an investment of NIS 15 million. This is one of the innovation centers that are currently being established as part of the Innovation Authority's "call for the establishment of innovation centers in the periphery." The partners in the project are the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of the Negev, the Galilee and National Resilience, and the Ministry of Regional Cooperation. The
Eilat Center, headed by CEO Eran Nadler, is expected to encourage and support start-up companies that develop products and technologies in the maritime field and to promote innovation activity in the city of Eilat, in general . In its first year of operation, the center is expected to accompany and support 6 active startups, and to hold hackathons and professional trainings, in collaboration with Hani. The
acting CEO of Hani Tiko Gadot said that "The management of Hani and the board headed by Uzi Itzhaki see great importance in promoting issues Innovation in the field of ports and shipping. About a year before the start of the 'Iron Swords' war, we signed a strategic agreement with the Eilat municipality to promote the expansion of the port as part of a joint national project."
According to Eran Nadler, CEO of SeaNovation: "Encouraging technological entrepreneurship, attracting new employers and promoting quality employment, while leveraging the relative advantages of the region and Israel, with an emphasis on biotechnology and aquaculture, through practical training, names, collaborations and leveraging existing assets."
More on the same topic:
Houthis
port
Port of Eilat
War of Iron Swords
Gaza war