Zim container ship
Photo: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv
Israeli cargo ship heads for LA to unload after Oakland protest
ZIM ship to find safe harbor in LA, after attempt to dock in Port of Oakland blocked by over 200 pro-Palestinian protesters.
An Israeli-owned container ship that was blocked from unloading its cargo at the Port of Oakland by pro-Palestinian protesters over the weekend was headed to Los Angeles on Monday, according to a ship-tracking website.
The Zim Shanghai left Oakland with its cargo still onboard on Sunday evening, according to the website marinetraffic.com. It was expected to arrive in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Related stories:
- Pro-Palestinian protesters rally across EU
- Tesco ransacked by pro-Palestinian protesters
- Pro-Palestinian organizations target Israeli shipping firm
Some 200 people angry over Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas rocket salvoes staged a protest on Saturday morning and again that afternoon.
Pro Palestinian protest at the Port of Oakland
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, saying they were threatened physically and their vehicles blocked as they tried to report to work, refused to unload the ship.
"The ILWU is not among the groups organizing the protests and the leadership and membership of the ILWU have taken no position on the Israel/Gaza conflict," the union said in a written statement.
"As far as the union can ascertain, the protests are organized by a coalition of individuals and organizations that plan events and create action alerts under the name of 'Block the Boat for Gaza' online."
Representatives for Zim International Shipping Lines could not be reached for comment on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Block the Boat, which has organized protests of Zim ships at the Port of Oakland in the past, said the organization was not responsible for this weekend's demonstration. It was carried out by a loose group of individuals, she said.
More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in 50 days of fighting in July and August, according to the Gaza health ministry. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were also killed.
