Beirut port makes solid comeback after 2020 blast

BEIRUT -- As the third anniversary of the Beirut port blast of August 4, 2020, approaches and families continue to mourn, the port itself has made a significant comeback following the fatal catastrophe, currently operating at near-full capacity.

But obstacles that are stalling its full revival remain, observers said, among them public sector corruption and Hizbullah's continued obstruction of the post-blast investigation.

Still, there has been significant progress at the port.

Currently, 13 of the 16 cranes are operational at the port, which processed about 600,000 containers in 2021 and 700,000 containers in 2022, and is expected to process close to 800,000 containers by the end of 2023.

Three ships carrying 8,000 containers docked at the port's Pier 16 at once on July 13 for the first time since 2020.

Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh said the private sector likely will be involved in bringing the operation of the port to full capacity.

The container terminal at the port is operated by French shipping group CMA CGM, owned by the Lebanese-French Saadé family, which in February 2022 won a contract to manage, operate, revamp and modernise the terminal for 10 years.

Increase in container traffic

Container traffic at Beirut port usually makes up over 75% of its total traffic, said Arab Federation of Chambers of Shipping vice chairman Elie Zakhour, former president of the International Chamber of Navigation of Beirut.

After the container terminal was damaged in the explosion, the Beirut Container Terminal Consortium, which oversees the management and operation of the terminal along with the Beirut Port Authority, made repairs to some of the cranes at the port, he said.

The repairs made it possible for the terminal to partially resume receiving and processing container ships one week after the explosion, he told Al-Mashareq.

Since 2022, CMA CGM has been injecting money into the terminal through the CMI Beirut Terminal company, which operates the container terminal, and has purchased spare parts and new equipment, he added.

The company has now repaired all the equipment, enabling the terminal to resume work at full capacity, Zakhour said.

The improvement in the services provided to ships has prompted international shipping companies, especially CMA CGM, to resume using the port as a hub for transporting shipments to the ports of neighbouring countries, he added.

According to Zakhour, in the first five months of 2023, the port of Beirut recorded a significant increase in the traffic of containers it processed.

But the old port of Beirut, where the grain silos are located and which receives vessels carrying goods such as iron and grains, as well as automobiles, is still in ruins, and no meaningful effort has been made to rebuild it, he said.

Grain silos that boosted public food security are not yet up and running.

Lebanon is almost bankrupt and unable to rebuild the old port and grain silos using its own resources, Zakhour said, noting that it needs foreign investment.

Need for development

"Developing the port is an urgent need," said Rabih Sabra, director general of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the largest business organisation in Lebanon.

Development would "reflect positively on import and export activities, increase national income and create job opportunities for the country's young people", he told Al-Mashareq.

The port of Beirut has resumed activity almost at pre-explosion level, writer and economic analyst Antoine Farah told Al-Mashareq, describing it as a cornerstone of the Lebanese economy.

Although the activity is emblematic of advancement, it would be economically meaningless if corruption is not tackled in the country, including in the port's operations, he said.

Lebanon needs to involve the private sector in managing the port to reduce corruption and carry out the necessary work to fully resume operations, he said.

According to Sabra, one way to involve the private sector is by including the Beirut Chamber on the port's board of directors, since it represents that sector.

Obstacles and obstruction

"There are many obstacles facing the development of the port, including the politicians' refusal to allow the private sector to operate public facilities, as it would serve their own interests to keep them under government control," said Farah.

The biggest obstacle, he said, is Hizbullah, as the Iran-backed party has its own line of goods at the port under the guise of "the needs of the resistance".

If Hizbullah had no role in the port explosion, it would have taken a neutral stance and facilitated the investigations of the blast, political writer Sawsan Mhanna told Al-Mashareq.

"Hizbullah is creating obstacles for the investigations under Judge Tarek al-Bitar's supervision, accusing him of politicisation and using his power in a discretionary manner, and its officials have said as much," she said.

"It is not in Hizbullah's interest to facilitate the investigations," Mhanna said.