Israel will compensate any ships damaged during its war with Hamas
Aware of the risks to its supply chains from ships diverting from its risky coastline, Israel has said it will compensate any ships that are damaged in its waters due to the ongoing war with Hamas.
Vessels calling at Israel already face the highest war risk surcharges anywhere in the world with the exception of Yemen and the Black Sea and some shipping lines have revised their shipping schedules in the opening 20 days of the war.
Taiwanese liner Evergreen became the first carrier to divert a feeder ship away from Israel nine days ago, issuing a force majeure.
Israel’s tax authority said in a statement yesterday that compensation would be awarded for “war damage” caused to any Israeli or foreign vessel located within Israel’s economic waters.
“So far, no merchant vessels have been damaged by missile/rocket fire. The Israeli Iron Dome system is designed to protect civilian and critical national infrastructure, which makes this less likely. However, vessels have been disrupted, and there is a considerably greater risk of damage in the event of a regional conflict given the number of missiles and rockets available to Israel’s opponents,” security consultancy Ambrey stated in a recent update.
I fully support Israel’s right to protect itself and it’s a noble gesture to compensate the industry for damage but what about the seafarers who are at risk. These vessels are manned with humans beings. What about them? Not even a mention…
Dear David
Crew members on board ships calling Israelis ports are covered by the Israel National Insurance for any injury that might take place due to any act of War/Terror.
This is the local law in Israel.
You are perfectly right David. The point is that the Israeli government ministers and their assistants, have no idea that merchant ships are manned. Most of them, if not all, haven’t seen or been on a cargo ship in their lives. The prime minister himself was a couple of years ago in the port of Haifa and was surprised to see a container vessel, saying that “she is very long, where does she end”. Most of the ministers, including the transport minister (she) have no clue whatsoever, what are all the merchants ships doing here in our ports. This is very unfortunate and this also led to the fact that there is no Israeli merchant marine altogether. A year ago I was summoned to the ministry of economy in Jerusalem to raise my concern that in times of war, we shall face supply chain problems. I was told by the “experts” in the ministry that they rely on foreign flag ships with foreign crew to trade to Israel.
Well, the reality is quite different as you can understand. Insurance cover is not a full proof. There are crew members on board who need to be paid for risking their lives. Many others, will not risk their lives for bonuses. The result is of course a disruption in our supplies, if the war will last longer than anticipated.
Captain Cohen – There may not be much in the way of an Israeli flag now, but there are most certainly Israeli shipowners, with a couple of really substantial fleets flying other flags!