Gard on Israel-Gaza conflict: Impact on shipping

Maritime protection and indemnity (P&I) club Gard on Monday (16 July) published an alert on the status of ports in Israel following the ongoing conflict with Gaza:

The situation in Israel remains volatile and we recommend assessing all port calls in the country on a case-by-case basis. Appropriate measures should be incorporated into ship contingency plans.

Following Hamas’ large scale military offensive against Israel on the morning of 7 October 2023, the longstanding Israel-Gaza conflict has escalated considerably.  

At the time of writing, the majority of the fighting is reported to take place in the southern part of Israel. 

According to our local correspondents, Ashkelon port is in principle closed, but permission to berth or discharge cargo while moored at the port’s anchorage may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Ashdod port is still in operation but applies strict entry procedures for vessels carrying hazardous materials. Other Israeli ports, including Haifa, Hadera and Eliat, are currently reported to be unaffected and operating as before the conflict escalated. However, as the situation continues to evolve, the status of Israeli ports can also change.

Advice is likely to evolve quickly

The situation in Israel remains volatile and we recommend ship operators and their masters trading to Israeli ports to carefully assess the risks involved in all port calls on a case-by-case basis and:

• make frequent checks with local sources of information, e.g. vessel agents, local authorities, and/or Gard’s correspondent, to obtain the most up-to-date and reliable security information available at any given time,
• follow advice received from their flag administrations and port authorities regarding applicable ISPS security levels, and
• review their relevant security and contingency plans and apply them accordingly. 

As an example, on 13 October 2023 the Liberia Maritime Authority raised the security level to MARSEC 2 for all Liberian flagged vessels calling at ports in Israel.

Owners and managers should also ensure that seafarers on vessels heading towards Israel are aware of any imminent security threats in the region.Decision on crew shore leave should always be taken with the prevailing local security situation in mind.

As Israel is already included in the Joint War Committee’s (JWC) Listed Areas for Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils, we also recommend conferring with the vessel’s war insurer well in advance of arrival at any Israeli port.

Photo credit: Chris Pagan on Unsplash
Published: 17 October, 2023