Zim Could Consider Abandoning Oakland Port

On Sunday night, after not being able to unload at the Port of Oakland, the ZIM Shanghai headed to the Port of Los Angeles. According to The Jewish Press, ZIM may not call on the Port of Oakland again. Other shipping companies wary of the port’s unreliability may also consider the same.

With an estimated 150 ZIM visits a year, that’s a lot of business and perhaps even jobs for the City of Oakland to lose, says the news agency.

The longshoremen of Oakland have claimed that they were physically threatened by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) protestors involved in the blockade of the vessel and that the leadership of their union, the ILWU, is not involved in the demonstrations. The union released a statement after claims arose that some in their leadership were using the BDS protest to bolster their contract negotiating position with the port. 

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.

The Port of Oakland is the only port in the United States so far where BDS protesters have been able to intimidate and physically threaten the longshoremen into not working.