Giant cranes line the container terminal at the port of Beirut. (Credit: P.H.B./OLJ)
The director of the Port of Beirut, Omar Itani, stated on Wednesday that the port was operating "almost normally" despite the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
"We are working almost normally at the port, both in terms of imports and exports," he said, as cited in the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
Following a meeting at the Grand Serail, the president of the Food Importers Syndicate, Hani Bohsali, stated that the country would not have supply issues as long as its main infrastructures remained operational, such as Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA) and the Port of Tripoli. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the president of the Association of Petroleum Importing Companies (APIC), Maroun Chammas, confirmed that Lebanon was still being supplied with gasoline, diesel and domestic gas despite the delay of the last shipment, which arrived Monday night in Beirut.
Finally, caretaker Finance Minister, Youssef Khalil, urged customs to speed up the clearance procedures for goods at all crossing points.
No blockade
Interviewed by the NNA, the director of the Port of Beirut emphasized that the process of clearing pending goods had been accelerated in several stages and decided, "after several meetings with the concerned authorities, to exceptionally issue special permits in order to speed up the work pace." He further assured that these operations were being conducted "under the strict control of the Lebanese army."
Itani stated that "all circulating information indicating that Israel was planning to target the port was unfounded," adding that an "emergency plan" had nonetheless been put in place to address any eventuality and that there was "no official decision of a maritime blockade" of the country.
On Monday, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson of the Israeli army, Avichai Adraee, called on ships to avoid the maritime area from the Awali River, at Saida level, to Naqoura, further south, in anticipation of a military operation against Hezbollah.
In a statement issued by the NNA, Khalil requested customs to "redouble their efforts" to expedite the clearance process, emphasizing that the ministry's operation "depends on customs resources that feed the public treasury." He also indicated that "the ministry is still able to fulfill this role and these missions despite the circumstances of the war that harm public finances and cause losses every additional day."
Pressure from the displaced
Supply difficulties for food businesses related to displaced movements due to the war will be resolved in a week to 10 days, assured Bohsali.
He was speaking at the end of a meeting convened by the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati dedicated to this issue. "As long as the Beirut airport, the Port of Beirut, and the Port of Tripoli are operational, there will be no problems," he said, acknowledging the pressure caused by more than one million displaced people coming from the South, the Bekaa and the southern Beirut suburbs.
He also called on all parties involved in the war not to "encroach" on the infrastructures he mentioned, as the ports of Tripoli and Beirut are the only ones equipped with container terminals. Bohsali also indicated that his syndicate had urged the authorities to do everything possible to facilitate the processing of goods in the various infrastructures of the country.
Finally, he criticized traders for raising prices, assuring that "the supply of foodstuffs is currently higher than demand." Recognizing an increase in insurance and transport costs, as well as temporary risks for shipping companies, in the order of 2 to 3 percent, he deemed it unacceptable for some traders to increase their prices by "20 percent to 30 percent."
Finally, the president of APIC told L'Orient-Le Jour that the last expected fuel shipment had been delayed after the ship transporting it could not dock in Lebanon due to a decision by an authority from the country whose flag it flew, without further details on this last point.
"The fuel was finally transferred to another ship at sea, which docked on Monday night in Lebanon," confirmed Chammas.