Eilat Port, Israel’s gateway to the Red Sea, remains almost deserted. The Houthi missiles have stopped, at least for now, but the threat to the region has not yet been removed. The port’s docks, which until November 2023 were packed with imported cars from Japan, Korea and China, have never been emptier.
The Knesset Finance Committee discussed the future of the port yesterday, during which it became clear that although the government presented a plan two months ago that was supposed to bring ships back to the Red Sea port, the plan has not been implemented and the port remains almost completely empty.
The Finance Committee decided that next week it will have to decide how to revive the port’s operations. Two alternatives are on the table: one is to activate an import order that would require vehicle importers to transfer part of their imports through Eilat Port, and the other is to provide direct budgetary assistance to the port as an interim solution that would allow its operations to continue despite the absence of commercial traffic.
Meanwhile, tomorrow the Ministries of Finance and Transport will decide whether to extend the Eilat Port operating concession by ten years or to launch a new tender. The port’s current management and owners will claim that responsibility for the crisis stems from the security and economic situation since the war and prolonged neglect by the state.
Eilat port’s owners have already received a letter from the Ministries of Finance and Transport stating that the concession of the port's management company will not be extended for another 10 years, as the current contract allows. The reason is that the port has not met the requirement to bring containers to the port and is not entitled to the automatic extension of the concession. The port management's request to ignore this requirement means a change in the terms of the agreement with the state, and not something that can be automatically approved.
The port’s management is relying on a professional opinion submitted by Dr. Yigal Maor, former director of the Shipping and Ports Authority, which says that there is no economic or operational feasibility for operating regular container lines to and from Eilat port. According to the document, the depth and infrastructure limitations at the port prevent the entry of the large container ships that currently lead global trade, while operating small ships would make the service expensive and uncompetitive. It also notes that the distance from central Israel means high road haulage costs, which shipping companies have no incentive to absorb, and that from an environmental and planning perspective, there are no suitable areas in Eilat for the development of a container port on a significant scale. The document concludes that the Port of Eilat is suitable for activities like vehicle imports and to act as an emergency port, but cannot be used as a commercial container port, and that an attempt to force such activity would need heavy government subsidies.
Damage from the war
Until the outbreak of the war, Eilat Port had specialized in unloading vehicles, with about 50% of cars imported to Israel docking there. In 2023, the port's revenue amounted to NIS 212 million, but in 2024, after the trade route through the Red Sea was closed, this fell to only NIS 42 million, a decline of about 80%.
The operational data also reflect the damage. In 2023, more than 134 ships visited the port and about 150,000 vehicles were unloaded there, while in 2024, no vehicles were unloaded at all, and only 16 ships arrived at the port. In the first half of 2025, only six ships visited the port. Even after the ceasefire was signed, activity has not yet returned. In October, not a single ship with vehicles arrived at the port, and out of more than 4,000 cargo ship movements in Israeli seaports, only 26 were carried out at Eilat Prot.
Nakash Group CEO and Eilat Port chairman Avi Hormaro said, "The situation today is that because cars are being diverted to northern ports, the cost of living in the country is rising. Ships are given priority by law in northern ports, and this causes the ports to be flooded with ships. Both containers and general cargo sometimes wait for 30 and 40 days. This is not reasonable. Every day a ship waits, costs hundreds of thousands of shekels, and ultimately this cost is passed on to the citizen."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 13, 2026.
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