The Israel Ports Authority has announced a tender for regular service of the container route between the ports of Ashdod and Haifa.
The project is designed to reduce the number of trucks on Israeli roads and reduce the load on the railway infrastructure.
According to the tender, the operator will be required to operate a vessel up to 150 meters in length, which will call at the waters of the port of Haifa and the port of Ashdod twice a week in each of the ports.
The tender is based on the principle of a “safety net”, according to which Hana guarantees the winner of the tender to cover the costs of the ship and its operation, but under certain conditions. The ceiling of this “safety net” will be 1.5 million shekels per month, and, according to the tender, the operator is obliged to enter the ports 16 times a month – eight times in each of them. If he enters them less than 14 times a month, 35 thousand will be deducted from this “safety net” shekels for each failed port call. In addition, the contract will be valid for 12 months with the possibility of extension up to 24 months.
Also, to encourage shipping companies to use this service, the company will be given a cash incentive of NIS 300 per container. The incentive is limited to 2,000 containers per shipping company and will be given for both full and empty containers. According to the tender, the winner will be entitled to carry out additional activities on the vessel, such as refueling outside Israel and/or calling at ports outside Israel, subject to the required activities being carried out in the ports of Haifa and Ashdod.