Due to the Yemeni blockade… Collapse of the revenues to the Port of Eilat and the occupation government seeking conditional compensation
Follow ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
The Israeli economic newspaper “The Marker” revealed that the revenues of the port of Eilat witnessed a sharp decline of 80% during the year 2024, as a result of the near-complete stoppage of incoming ship traffic, against the backdrop of the blockade imposed by the Yemeni armed forces on maritime navigation in the Red Sea, in support of the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper reported that the Israeli government will vote next Sunday on a draft resolution to compensate the port for its losses, but with conditions, including obligating the port owners to pay accumulated debts amounting to 3.2 million shekels.
According to the report, the draft resolution showed the great damage inflicted on the southern port as a result of the maritime blockade that prompted many shipping companies to avoid passing through the Red Sea. Instead, ships had to detour around the African continent to reach the ports of Ashdod and Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea, diverting shipping activity away from Eilat.
From the beginning of 2025 until mid-May, only 6 ships docked at the port of Eilat, compared to 134 ships in 2023. The sharp decline led to the suspension of most of the port’s activities, forcing the administration to send 21 employees on unpaid leave.
As for revenues, they decreased from 212 million shekels in 2023 to only 42 million shekels in 2024, indicating unprecedented financial losses.
These data show the scale of the strategic impact caused by the Yemeni blockade on the maritime corridors associated with “Israel,” especially amid the failure of maritime insurance efforts and the growing international concern about the danger of operations in the Red Sea.
The port of Eilat is considered one of the vital ports for the occupation’s economy, especially in importing cars and raw materials, and the current crisis is seen as a serious indicator of the fragility of “Israeli” maritime trade lines in the face of regional escalations.