The Port of Ashdod ( he, נמל אשדוד) is one of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's three main cargo ports. The port is located in
Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, adjoining the mouth of the
Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the country's port capacity. It handles the largest volume of cargo containers annually (1.525 million
TEU in 2017) of all Israeli ports. Ships carrying humanitarian aid for the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
also unload their cargo at Ashdod.
History
The need to open another deep water port arose in Israel's early years, when it became clear that the expansion of the existing ports of
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
and
Eilat could not ensure efficient handling of the increasing volume of export and import cargoes. The decision to start the new port was based on a number of considerations:
* The port meshes with the concern for population dispersal and the establishment of urban centers in the southern part of the country.
* The port substantially shortens the overland transport of cargoes to and from the southern and central parts of the country.
* The distance from the citrus groves of
Rehovot to the Port of Ashdod is 102 km shorter than to
Haifa's port and the transport of
potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. from
Sodom to the Port of Ashdod is 120 km less than to Haifa.
* The port is close to the existing transport arteries with the possibility of developing new routes in the future.
* The port is situated near the industrial and production centers of the country, as well as to
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, the commercial center.
The Port of Ashdod remains one of the few deep water ports in the world to be built on the open sea, and its construction involved great engineering challenges. The decision on the location and construction of the port was preceded by a maritime and climatic survey which confirmed the engineering feasibility of its construction. The physical design began in 1957-1958, a critical time, both from the point of view of the development of maritime transport and port facilities for cargo handling, and from the point of view of the development of cargo vessels. It was during this period that modern shipping concepts began to be applied throughout the world.
Its construction was based on a long term development plan. Breakwaters were built to create a harbor where
quay
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...
s could be built and developed in stages. In the first stage, quays 1 and 3 were built, mainly for the handling of citrus and other agricultural exports.
Other parts of the port were allocated for future development, as special needs arose.
Thanks to this approach, the Port of Ashdod has managed so far to supply satisfactory solutions to the new types of cargoes and vessels which developed since its opening.
Modern vessels, maritime transport methods, and appropriate port facilities have developed very rapidly over the last 30 years. World shipping has undergone a real revolution vis-a-vis vessel size, new cargo handling concepts based on
containerized
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
and unitized cargo, large consignments of liquid and dry bulk products. etc.
The port began operations on November 21, 1965, with the entry of the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
ship "Wingland" and its cargo of sugar.
Eitan terminal
The Eitan terminal, completed in 2006, involved extending the main breakwater by 1,150 meters and
reclaiming
In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...
100
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...
s which allowed the addition of 1,700 meters of new operational quays capable of supporting Super Post-
Panamax vessels.
During the construction of the breakwater, retired
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
Chief of Staff Rafael "Raful" Eitan, who was supervising the construction, died when he was swept off the breakwater by a large wave into rough seas.
Rafael ("Raful") Eitan (1929-2004)
The Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
In his memory, the new section of the port was named the 'Eitan Terminal'.
General cargo
Most of the work is carried out on six conventional piers which handle such cargoes as agricultural exports, citrus fruit, timber, metals, pelletized cargo, sling cargo, bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude o ...
in grabs, etc. These piers can handle all types of ships of up to 30,000 tons. Pier
Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
no. 5 has been deepened and fitted to work Panamax type ships of up to 60,000 tons deadweight. The piers are outfitted with excellent equipment for efficient working. There are also 4 berths for Roll On/Roll Off ships, one of them on the container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
pier.
Storage
The port's storage space totals about 500,000 m². Of these, 50,000 m² are covered, for general cargo storage. There is also a special shed for storing hazardous materials, chemicals, etc. which may not be stored in enclosed spaces or open areas.
Coal pier
In the beginning of the 1990s the first generating unit in the new Rutenberg Power Station
The Rutenberg Power Station is a coal-fired power plant situated on the Mediterranean coast in Ashkelon, Israel.
Description
The Rutenberg power station, named for Pinhas Rutenberg, is owned and operated by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). ...
at Zikim
Zikim ( he, זִיקִים) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The kibbutz was established in 1949 on la ...
, near Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...
, went into operation, fired by coal imported through the Port of Ashdod. The port has the necessary facilities for moving the incoming coal from the coal pier to the coal storage yard in the rear of the port, east of the Ashdod power station. There it was loaded on railcars for transport to the power station at Zikim. In 1988 the building of pier 9 was completed, which made possible the unloading of 2.5 million tons coal per year. In August 1989, the building of a conveyor, which transports coal from pier 9 to the coal yard, was completed, and with it the Port of Ashdod's preparation for the "coal age" was concluded on schedule.
In September 1989, the 120,000 ton collier M.S. Leon entered port with 85,000 tons of coal. The coal was unloaded by crane unto the conveyor and taken to the Coal Company at the rear of the Ashdod power station. The big ship was brought into port by modern Voit-Schneider type tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s, which have an exceptional maneuverability and a bollard pull of 35 and 45 tons respectively. Bringing 160,00 G.R.T. ships into the port (at partial load capacity) is a considerable accomplishment in view of the fact that the Port of Ashdod was intended for navigation by ships of maximum deadweight of 30,000 tons (before the port was expanded in the 2000s).
In 2000, a deepwater coal pier was completed at the Rutenberg Power Station site which made transporting coal by rail from Ashdod no longer necessary.
Bulk handling
Minerals
The specialized minerals handling pier was opened in 1967. In 1979 more modern systems were added to the old ones. All are computer controlled.
The bulk installations can store 240,000 tons of phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
s (in 10 separate categories) and 140,000 tons of potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. (separated in 5 categories).
The mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...
s arrive in the port in special railcars and trucks. Their discharge into the stores is carried out by conveyor systems and heaping machinery, at a rate of 800 to 1,500 tons per hour. The loading onto ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s is carried out by two loaders, one at a rate of 800 tons per hour and the other at 1,600 tons per hour. Another loader is to be installed shortly to speed the operation.
The potash loading ships anchor at the dolphins, where the water's depth is 12.5 meters, allowing the mooring of Panamax ships of up to 225 meters in length and 60,000 tons capacity.
Grain
Although the rear of the port area contains a large grain elevator, the port's grain unloading capacity is constrained by the fact that grain has to be transported from the docks to the silos using trucks. To alleviate this constraint, a US$75 million, 2.5 km long elevated conveyor system between the docks and silos is being constructed as of 2021. This conveyor will significantly increase the grain handling capacity of the port.
Passengers and cruise ships
Following the signing of the interim agreement between the governments of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
in the spring of 1975, the era of passenger cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
s opened in the port.
In September 1975, the first ship, Stella Polaris, arrived in the port from Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. In 1981, the traffic gathered momentum and since then the tourist traffic through the port has been growing. The terminal adjoins the debarkation area and allows passengers quick and convenient access. As the passenger traffic grew, the building of a new passengers terminal was approved and it is now in an advanced stage of planning. All passenger ship matters are handled by the security department and port services.
Southern Terminal construction
In 2015, the Israel Ports Authority commenced construction of a major expansion of the port named the ''Southern Terminal'' (נמל הדרום) at a cost of NIS3.3 billion (appx. US$900 million), expected to open in 2021. The first phase of the plan involves extending the existing main breakwater by 600m, the construction of a secondary 1.5 km breakwater, extensive land reclamation which will create a new container terminal with an 800m main quay capable of handling up to 18,000 TEU container ships and a secondary 500m quay, as well as an on-site freight rail terminal.
The new terminal is being constructed by Pan Mediterranean Engineering (PMEC, a subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering). Switzerland-based Terminal Investment Limited (also known as the TiL Group, controlled by the privately-held MSC Group) won the bid for the concession to operate the new terminal for a period of 25 years starting in 2021.
Alongside the new terminal, development plans being carried out also include the construction of additional cargo storage and logistical support areas near the port, electrical and communications networks, and new access roads connecting to the local and national traffic network.
See also
* Ashdod Port attack
* List of seaports
* Cargo ship
*Shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Ashdod
1965 establishments in Israel
Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
Ashdod