Moving and logistics services are experiencing significant disruption because of the recent escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel, according to movers in the region.
In the past few days, the two countries have exchanged attacks leaving numerous casualties and thousands of people stranded inside Israel as airports have closed and commercial flights remain grounded.
In an email update to clients of Ocean, Daniel Drenger, VP Client Services, said Israel’s Home Front Command had issued emergency directives across the country, closing schools and restricting access to workplaces to essential services only, including healthcare, food supply and utility providers – and the company’s own operations.
‘Local relocation services and on-the-ground support remain available,’ he said. ‘We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.’
Shmuel Mantinband, VP Sales and Marketing at Sonigo, said the company was concerned about the situation, which was likely to cause disruption and increase costs.
‘Please anticipate delays and extra storage charges, although we will do our best to limit them as much as possible,’ he said, adding that the company is continuing to operate both its packing and delivery operations.
‘Our in-house customs brokers are clearing shipments, although customs itself is working with a skeleton crew’, said Mantinband.
Sea ports are still receiving vessels, although some skipped the ports of Ashdod and Haifa over the weekend, he said. Vessels with hazardous materials are currently not permitted into ports, with these cargoes being offloaded before they arrive in Israel.
Ilan Rebibo, of A Univers Transit, said ‘despite the difficult circumstances’, the company was operating at full capacity.
‘Our teams, trucks, warehouse, and staff remain fully active and committed to maintaining our high service standards,’ he said. ‘While the airport is currently closed… our sea freight operations continue without disruption.
‘We remain focused on delivering dependable service and supporting our partners and clients throughout this period. We all hope for calmer, more peaceful days ahead.’
Suren Shahnazarian, Export/ Import Department Manager at Teamnet said the company was working under ‘emergency measures’. ‘This means office employees and teams are working by rotation,’ he said.