Port of Eilat

History

The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952 and 1956. It was opened for cargo traffic in 1957 and it was designed to serve as the southern gateway to Israel for shipments from East Africa, Asia and the Far East, as it allows Israeli shipping to reach the Indian Ocean without having to sail through the Suez Canal. Since it was opened, a major user of the port is Dead Sea Works and its parent ICL Group Ltd., which exports minerals from the Dead Sea, mainly Potash to India, China and the Far East, using a dedicated wharf at the port.

Egyptian naval blockades of the Straits of Tiran which control access to Eilat featured prominently in the events which led to two major Arab-Israeli conflicts: the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War.

Thereafter until the Iranian Revolution, oil was imported through the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline.

In the 1980s, the port handled up to 40,000 containers a year, but the business waned until it was eliminated altogether in 2007, when Zim Integrated Shipping Services stopped visiting the port, preferring to ship containers directly to Israel's Mediterranean ports.

Until the late 1990s, importers of goods from the Far East were required by the Israeli government to ship them into the country via the port of Eilat (In order to ensure there is sufficient traffic through the Port). Also, coastal tourism uses compete with any prospects of expanding the port's facilities. For many years, in order to keep the port viable, vehicle importers to Israel from Japan and the Far East were forced to use the port, and ship them north using Car carrier trailer.

Patrol Boats Squadron 915 of the Israeli Navy is based a section of the port.

Privatization

In 2003, Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, started the process of privatizing the port. Initially it was separated from the state owned Israel Port Authority into a separate limited company (which was still owned by the state). However the process was stalled,{{Cite web |url=https://www.themarker.com/misc/2004-01-21/ty-article/0000017f-e5c0-da9b-a1ff-edefaee70000

In November 2012, "Papo Maritime", subsidiary of Jordache Enterprises Inc. owned by the Nakash Brothers, agreed to pay the Israeli government NIS 120 million for the franchise to operate the port for 15 years, after bidding NIS 100.5 million initially and improving on the offer twice.

In 2014 the port started again handling shipping containers after many years, using a small feeder ship with a capacity of 124 containers that are transported to the Port of Aqaba, in Jordan for transshipment into bigger vessels. "Papo Maritime" also bought two mobile cranes for loading and unloading containers. This was done under the terms of the contract with the government, where "Papo Maritime" promised to meet a target of handling an annual average of 80,000 TEU of containers.

Impact of Red Sea crisis

In October 2023, Ansar Allah, known widely as the Houthi movement, fired missiles and drones targeting international interests in the Red Sea. They were generally aimed at ships from all countries sailing through the Red Sea. The missiles and drones were intercepted with no casualties recorded. The strikes were followed by further attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Ships headed to the port of Eilat were among the ships targeted by the Houthis. All container shipping through the Red Sea dropped by approximately 90 percent from December to the middle of February due to the Houthi attacks. In December, it was reported by the CEO of the Eilat port that following the Houthi attacks, shipping activity to the port has dropped by 85%.

In March 2024, the port operator announced plans to lay off half its staff, due to Houthi attacks stymieing shipping trade to the port.

On 7 July 2024, the port's CEO told the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee that there had been no activity at the port in the past eight months, and he was requesting financial assistance. Later the CEO said "It must be acknowledged that the port is in a state of bankruptcy".

On 17 July 2025, the port's bank accounts were frozen due to unpaid taxes. The port completely shut down on 20 July 2025.

Development plans

To alleviate the limitations imposed on the port's development, the government has proposed the "Southern Gateway" plan for the area. This proposal entails the construction of a massive combined air-rail-sea logistical center to be located in the desert north of the city. The details of this proposal include: relocating the current port to an excavated area north of the city, reachable by a 70 m-wide, 7.5 km-long canal built alongside the Jordanian border from the Gulf of Aqaba, the construction of a new international airport within the vicinity (finished in 2019), and the extension of the railway from the Nahal Zin railhead to the port and airport. International investors such as the South African Harris Group of Companies, and Chinese government have expressed interest in the project. The vision is to provide an alternative route to the Suez Canal.

The relocation of the port will free up a considerable amount of coastline on the gulf for redevelopment for tourism purposes and connection of the port to Israel Railways' network would ensure a significant increase in the amount of cargo traffic passing through the port. The railway would also help boost tourism which took a hit with the shutdown of Eilat Airport and Sde Dov Airport in 2019, making domestic travel to Eilat more time-consuming and cumbersome.

In January 2012, the Minister of Transportation instructed the Israel Port Authority to begin a preliminary survey of the land to determine the optimal location of an excavated port north of Eilat.{{cite press release | trans-title = Within a month: Proposal seeking approval of Tel-Aviv to Eilat railway | script-title = he:בתוך חודש: הצעה לאישור הממשלה על הקמת קו רכבת מתל אביב לאילת | access-date = 9 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170706210155/http://he.mot.gov.il/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1916:dover-2012-01-09b&catid=56:dover-c-1&Itemid=65 | archive-date = 6 July 2017 | url-status = dead

Environmental protection

Due to environmental concerns, the Eilat Port Authority spent millions to build a loader that prevents phosphate dust from dispersing into the sea.

References

Biography

References

1. Anat, Georgi. (2003-10-18). "Returning Eilat to the fish - Who needs the port there anyway?".
2. Bar-Eli, Avi. (2011-05-04). "Corporate Giant Threatens Sale of Eilat Port".
3. Barkat, Amiram. (2014-03-12). "Eilat Port ships containers via Aqaba".
4. Georgy, Anat. (2004-05-24). "Eilat Rail Could Be Operational by 2008".
5. Barkat, Amiram. (2011-07-13). "Eilat Port enjoys monopoly on Far East car imports".
6. Levy-Stein, Revital. (2006-01-16). "For First Time, Navy Engineers Raise Sunken Patrol Boat in Complex Operation".
7. Bior, Haim. (2005-02-24). "Treasury, Histadrut Reach Agreement on Port Privatization".
8. Teig, Amir. (2003-10-03). "Three 'port companies' to be devoid of assets, treasury proposes".
9. Zrahiya, Zvi. (2004-07-15). "Law to Privatize Ports Ignites Strike".
10. Barkat, Amiram. (2010-12-06). "Eilat Port privatization underway".
11. Bar-Eli, Avi. (2012-07-12). "With Only One Contender, Bids for Eilat Port Tender Deferred".
12. Efrati, Ido. (2012-10-12). "Dead in the Water? Not Many Takers for Eilat's Port".
13. (2012-11-07). "Nakash Brothers Up Ante to NIS 120m, Win Eilat Port Franchise".
14. "Deep Dive: Houthis effectively declare war on Israel after drone, missile barrage".
15. Rabinovitch, Ari. (21 December 2023). "Israel's Eilat Port sees 85% drop in activity amid Red Sea Houthi attacks".
16. (20 March 2024). "Eilat Port to lay off half its staff due to Houthi attacks stymieing shipping trade". [[Times of Israel]].
17. Savvides, Nick. (10 July 2024). "Attacks on Red Sea shipping bankrupt Israeli port". Informa Markets (UK).
18. (16 July 2024). "Israel says Eilat Port 'bankrupt' after months of Houthi naval blockade".
19. Rapaport, Nadav. (17 July 2025). "'A victory for the Houthis': Israel's Eilat port to shut down due to Red Sea attacks".
20. Havelock, Gareth. (2025-07-21). "Debt crisis forces Israel to suspend operations at Port of Eilat".
21. Jansen, Michael. (Jul 20, 2025). "Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat halts operations due to Yemeni-Houthi blockade".
22. Sharon Kedmi. (2006-04-23). "The Man who would Remodel Eilat". [[Haaretz]].
23. "Why Should China Want to Help Israel Build a Train to Eilat?".
24. (Feb 14, 2014). "New Rail Freight Link Could Become 'Israel’s Suez Canal’". [[Haaretz]].
25. Barkat. Amiram. link. Globes]]. (18 January 2012)
26. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170629155944/http://envirolink.org/resource.html?itemid=200410180546150.188333&catid=5 Zalul, Envirolink]