Israel's Largest Port Attacked by Missiles: Lasting Impacts and Interruptions in Global Trade

On the early morning of May 5th, the Shia armed group "Iraqi Islamic Resistance Movement" claimed to have launched a missile attack on Haifa Port, Israel's largest port, to support the people of Gaza and oppose Israel's occupation. The organization also stated that it will continue to attack Israel's infrastructure as a response to Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. Haifa Port is the largest port in Israel, with an annual cargo throughput of nearly 30 million tons and a container throughput of approximately 1.5 million TEUs.

Multiple seaports in Israel, including Haifa Port along the Mediterranean coast, Ashdod Port, and Eilat Port in the Red Sea region, have recently been attacked by the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Movement and Houthi militants. The port of Eilat has almost interrupted its import and export business due to missile attacks by the Houser armed forces.

Since the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Israeli port operations have been frequently hit by Hussain militants, and the Red Sea route has been interrupted. On the 3rd, the spokesperson for the Housai armed forces, Yehya Sarea, stated that the Housai armed forces will launch attacks on ships associated with Israel sailing in the Mediterranean, expanding their attack range to the Mediterranean.

In addition, Sarea also stated that if Israel launches an attack on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, the Hussai armed forces will continue to expand their scope of attack, targeting all ships of companies that have traded with Israel in the past few months in the Red Sea, Arab Sea, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean, regardless of their nationality and target port.

As the Ministry of Trade of the Government of Türkiye announced that all trade with Israel would be suspended due to the continuous conflict situation in and around the country. On May 5, Maersk's official website issued a notice of suspension of Israeli import and export trade, transshipment and booking of shipping space. The specific restrictions are as follows and will come into force immediately:

Suspend all exports from Türkiye to Israel

Suspend all imports from Israel to Türkiye

Suspend all imported goods destined for Türkiye and transshipped in Israel

Suspend the transshipment of all third country goods related to Israel in Türkiye

Suspend all empty containers loaded or prepared for shipment from Israel to Israel

If the customer's newly booked space has not been loaded between Israel and Türkiye, or transferred to Israel through Türkiye as a transit port, Maersk will need to trigger a change of destination (COD) or cancel the booking according to the above restrictions. Similarly, goods that are already in transit will need to be returned to the port of origin or unloaded at a nearby hub port.

At present, there is no indication of when the Türkiye government will lift the restrictions. Maersk stated that it is seeking the best solution for its customers' goods and will communicate all emergency details with them as soon as possible, including cash on delivery and cancellation terms.

On April 9, the Ministry of Trade of Türkiye said in a statement that Türkiye would impose export restrictions on 54 kinds of products from that day on Israel, including cement, steel construction materials, etc. The statement states that this decision will remain in effect until Israel declares a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allows humanitarian aid to continue entering the area.

This decision is undoubtedly a heavy economic blow for Israel. The two countries originally maintained close political and economic ties. According to Erdogan, the trade volume between Turkey and Israel has reached 9.5 billion US dollars, with Israel's imports accounting for over 76%. Türkiye mainly imports steel, machinery, minerals and fuels, as well as fresh agricultural products and food.

For this reason, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz stated that he has instructed officials to immediately engage with all relevant parties of the government to find a response plan, with a focus on encouraging domestic production and imports from other countries. Now, the sudden interruption of this trade relationship is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Israel, which is busy dealing with the challenges of war.

Such drastic changes in the international trade sphere only harden our resolution to provide unerring service. Unpredictable as these situations might be, the continuity and security of your business remains our number one priority.

So, rest assured, with Airsupply, your business is in safe harbors.

Here's to resilience, adaptability, and maintaining course regardless of the circumstances!