Unlike Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, classified as a "red zone" by some countries, which means that it would be affected in the event of war, Beirut Port remains in the "green zone" and continues to operate normally.
This article was originally published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.
In practice, the port is only considered a "red zone" if international insurance companies receive information that Lebanon is a dangerous area to be avoided, which has not happened yet.
It is puzzling that Lebanon's skies are labeled as "red" while its waters remain "green" unless there is a hidden political agenda driven by fear-mongering, blockade, and pressure on the Lebanese.
This led several international airlines to halt their flights to Lebanon and start evacuating their citizens.
This tension contrasts with the calm at the port. Lebanese Shipping Agents Syndicate President Marwan El Yaman told Al-Akhbar, "We haven't received any news from insurance companies about any changes in the working mechanism, and these companies have not issued any directives based on warnings for taking precautionary measures."
Ships, like airplanes, are covered by insurance contracts with significant amounts. "So, as soon as the companies receive any warnings, we will be faced with two types of fees: hazard fees for containers, which differ based on the size of the containers and are imposed individually."
Whereas unpackaged cargo in containers is subject to fees based on weight. This does not include ships loaded with fuel, which are subject to a different level of risk, and their insurance method is different because it includes environmental risk insurance in case of leakage.
"Therefore, their costs are high in normal circumstances, so how would they be in war conditions," he added.
The fees for containers and goods, if imposed, are collected by the marine agent from the merchant and transferred to the represented companies.
However, "until now, marine agents have not demanded any additional amounts from importers or exporters, whether they are hazard fees or transport fees," which means that anyone who raises the price of goods in the market citing additional fees is exploiting the crisis and should be held accountable.
Elie Zakhour, the First Vice President of the Arab Federation of Chambers of Shipping and Former president of the International Chamber of Navigation in Beirut, emphasized that "there is no justification for price increases, and marine agents are prohibited today from charging any additional amount as long as shipping companies have not requested any additional fees."
He also confirmed that shipping operations are normal, and all international lines are operating as usual. However, he could not provide exact figures regarding container traffic.
Beirut Port receives approximately 20,000 "standard" containers per month, which is the average for imports, and around 7,000 containers are shipped for exports, not to mention its use as a temporary station for reaching the final destination in what is known as "Transshipment."
El Yaman says, "The damage occurs when warnings about the danger of passing through Lebanon are heeded. We will lose this role, which will directly affect us. However, until now, the operations continue as they are and have not been affected at all."
What is happening is that "some merchants were affected and lost export contracts after some foreign contracts with them were suspended until the general situation cleared up for fear of paying the price of the goods and not arriving or being damaged due to security conditions."
Some orders that are not related to essential goods, such as bicycles and furnishings, "have been put on hold, and some exporters and industrial facilities have been asked to wait, creating a certain level of confusion."