Ports around the world are reporting record container handling figures including Ashdod in Israel, where 1.58m teu were handled last year and 2021 looks on track to smash new highs.

Shiko Zana, CEO of the port, tells Maritime CEO that Ashdod is entering a transformative period with new quayside under construction.

A total of $600m is being spent developing pier 21 at the port so that it can handle 24,000 teu class ships by the end of next year.

The port has also recently signed agreements to establish three chemical storage farms, while its nearly two-year-old tech incubator has welcomed more than 30 startups and helped position the port as a centre for maritime innovation.

“We set an annual record for the scope of containers unloaded, while also breaking an all-time record about two months ago – when in one day we unloaded over 5,000 containers at Ashdod Port,” says Zana. “The recent data proves that there has been improvement in the efficiency and quality of the equipment. Thanks to our employees, despite the expected harm caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we were able to overcome this period of crisis and uncertainty and achieve great things.”