Evergreen declares ‘force majeure’ for Israel stop

Taipei Times ^ | Oct 19 2023 | Staff

[texas booster]

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) has declared force majeure on a shipment to the Israeli port of Ashdod, with its Ever Cozy vessel diverted to Haifa due to safety concerns, a customer note said.

This is one of the first force majeures declared since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 and amid preparations by Israel’s military to launch ground operations into Gaza in retaliation.

The Ever Cozy on Tuesday was sailing toward Haifa, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed.

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) has declared force majeure on a shipment to the Israeli port of Ashdod, with its Ever Cozy vessel diverted to Haifa due to safety concerns, a customer note said.

This is one of the first force majeures declared since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 and amid preparations by Israel’s military to launch ground operations into Gaza in retaliation.

The Ever Cozy on Tuesday was sailing toward Haifa, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed. Shipping containers are stacked on an Evergreen container ship at the Port of Los Angeles on Feb. 7.

While the smaller Ashkelon port, which is the closest terminal to Gaza, has shut, Ashdod has remained opened with restrictions on the transport of hazardous goods, including flammable and explosive materials.

In a note to customers dated Monday, Evergreen said that it was informed about the “persisting unsafe situation” at Ashdod port since Oct. 7.

“As the situation is beyond Evergreen Line’s control, we are formally declaring force majeure,” the advisory said. “All cargoes which were originally destined for Ashdod, Israel, will be discharged at Port of Haifa, Israel. Thereafter, the subject contract of carriage is treated as terminated and all carrier’s responsibilities shall cease.”

[texas booster]

In the latest update, Ashdod port said on its Web site that employees continued to work “at a time when the port is operating with constant siren alerts for incoming missiles.”

On Tuesday, three ships, including an oil tanker, remained at anchor waiting to enter Ashdod, while 16 ships were anchored near Haifa, the MarineTraffic data showed.

Ashdod and Haifa are vital goods gateways for Israel.

War risk insurance rates have soared more than 10-fold in the past few days to Israeli ports with growing concerns over an escalation in hostilities.

[NautiNurse]

Important info regarding the shipping and port situations for Israel. Thanks for the post.

[texas booster]

We use this phrase often but it does mean different things in other countries. From the Cornell law Library:

force majeure

Force majeure is a provision in a contract that frees both parties from obligation if an extraordinary event directly prevents one or both parties from performing. A non-performing party may use a force majeure clause as excuse for non-performance for circumstances beyond the party's control and not due to any fault or negligence by the non-performing party.

However, mere impracticality or unanticipated difficulty is not enough to excuse performance. Indeed, courts generally do not recognize economic downturn as a force majeure event. This is because economic hardships occur regularly in business, and as a result, may be appropriately and preemptively dealt with by allocating its risk through the terms of the contract. As such, force majeure events are often labeled as "acts of god" and include both natural and man-made events like fires, floods, storms, war, and labor disputes....

[mountainlion]

I give, what is majeure???

[BipolarBob]

It’s more serious than a minouere.

[ifinnegan]

Corresponds to major in English.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/majeur#French

[ifinnegan]

Ashdod Is a little north of Gaza.

They’re going to deliver to Haifa instead, about 80 miles north.

[FarCenter]

Ever Cozy is currently moored in Mersin, Turkey.

It was at Haifa 10/16-17 for 15.5 hours.

https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9904510

[texas booster]

That seems to be a fast unload.

I suspect that the captain and the dock made sure that every container was off asap, and then they grabbed the first available tug out of the harbor.

Not comparable to US ports but a few days seems minimal with US union dock workers.

[Delta 21]

Its like acts of God somehow covered by insurance when its the rest of the worlds fault. Claim you cant fill your end of the contract because of unforeseen war, civil unrest, ect.

[Delta 21]