Zim shipping suspends services at California port

After months of picketing by anti-Israel protesters, 10th largest cargo company cuts services at Long Beach

Israel’s largest cargo shipping company suspended its operations at a California port.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services, the 10th largest global container shipping company in the world, has temporarily cut off its shipping services to the Port of Long Beach, The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported.

The company has not offered a reason for the suspension, although the decision comes after months of picketing this summer against Zim vessels by anti-Israel protesters along the West Coast of the United States.

A Zim employee in Long Beach told the Jewish Journal that the suspension is “not a long-term thing.”

The protest campaign, Block the Boat, was organized by the San Francisco-based Arab Resource and Organizing Center and has been especially active in Oakland. In August and September, protesters there prevented Israeli cargo ships from unloading.

Lee Peterson, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, confirmed that Zim had temporarily suspended service at the port. He said he was not given a reason for the action.

“I’m not sure how long they will be in this mode,” he told JTA.

Peterson added that there were “some protests” in the summer, often on Saturdays.

“At the time,” he said, “it did not affect the longshore workers and operations continued.”