Shibh Aljazeera Net | Red Sea | Economy
The Hebrew news site Walla reported a significant increase in the cost of importing cars to Israel as a result of the ongoing closure of Eilat Port and the maritime blockade imposed by the Yemeni forces. The report highlighted that Haifa and Ashdod ports, which have become temporary alternatives, are struggling with severe storage challenges, as they were not equipped to handle the large volume of vehicles previously handled by Eilat, leading to additional costs for importers.
According to the report published Tuesday evening, thousands of Mazda cars were unloaded at Haifa and Ashdod ports and transported overland to storage facilities in Eilat. These journeys spanned 500 kilometers from Haifa and 320 kilometers from Ashdod, adding over 1,000 shekels to the cost of each vehicle.
The report sarcastically noted that Eilat Port has indeed “received cars — but by land, not by sea,” as no vehicles have been unloaded there since the Yemeni forces began their attacks.
Storage Issues at Alternative Ports
The report explained that restrictions imposed by the head of the Ministry of Transportation’s Shipping Directorate on storing new vehicles in ports have forced importers to seek costly and complex alternatives. Importers have stockpiled large quantities of electric vehicles ahead of new taxes expected to take effect at the start of next year, creating significant congestion at the ports.
Haifa and Ashdod ports each have a storage capacity of 16,000 cars, later increased to 18,000. However, the congestion has led to the cancellation of numerous shipping operations, forcing vessels loaded with cars to unload at other Mediterranean ports. This has added further financial burdens for transporting the vehicles back to Israel.
The Impact of Eilat Port Closure
Eilat Port was previously responsible for handling over 50% of cars imported to Israel. However, since late last year, its operations have completely ceased due to Yemeni forces’ attacks on Israeli and Israel-bound ships, which caused the port’s activity to collapse entirely.
While the car import operations were redirected to Haifa and Ashdod ports, Walla’s report emphasized that the alternative solutions have failed to resolve the challenges posed by Eilat Port’s closure. The port’s shutdown continues to heavily impact the imported car sector, increasing transportation and storage costs significantly.