Israel Conflict Halts Container Line's Mediterranean Service

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday November 15, 2023

The ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine has halted one container line's service in the Mediterranean.

Four 2,518 TEU boxships in Kalypso di Navigazione's Asia-Med loop have been stationary since mid-October, container shipping intelligence service Alphaliner reported in its weekly note to clients on Wednesday.

The vessels are chartered from Zhonggu Shipping, and the Chinese owner has prohibited calls to Ashdod and diversions to Haifa until further notice.

"With the war in Israel and Gaza, the ships are now stuck," Alphaliner said.

"The ZHONG GU XIONG AN, which sailed westbound from Chittagong on 1 October, has already spent four weeks at anchor in the Red Sea, near the southern entrance to the Suez Canal.

"According to Kalypso, 270 of the 950 boxes aboard the ship are to be discharged in Israel.

"The dispute between Kalypso and Zhonggu remains unresolved and it will likely go into arbitration, which could lead to a premature termination of the charters."