The Beirut Port, where 70% of Lebanon’s imports and exports pass through, is at risk of “paralysis,” warned the International Chamber of Navigation (ICN Beirut) on Thursday.
Explaining that only 6 out of 16 cranes at the port’s container terminal are operational as most of its equipment has become inoperable, ICN Beirut expressed fear that the container terminal “will become almost paralyzed,” if more cranes and machines go out of service.
In the event that it cannot secure and transfer funds to suppliers abroad to buy spare parts for urgent repairs of its equipment and machinery, the Beirut Port might completely cease container operations.
ICN Beirut urged intervention from concerned parties to stop the imminent collapse and find a solution for securing and transferring funds abroad.
“The continued decline in container terminal services will have dire repercussions on all workers in the Lebanese maritime transport sector,” said ICN Beirut, as well as on importers and exporters.
That is particularly alarming since “more than 70% of Lebanon’s trade with abroad takes place through the container terminal in the Beirut Port.”
Last month, the Beirut Port faced intense power outages that risked destroying millions of dollars worth of food and medicine stored in refrigerators, which would have led to a “financial and economic catastrophe,” reported NNA.