Malaysia bans Israeli cargo ships from its ports

In a statement, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim explicitly singled out ZIM Integrated Shipping Services.

Malaysia does not have any formal diplomatic relations with Israel and commercial relations are limited. However, Israel’s largest shipping company has been permitted to dock vessels at Malaysian ports since 2002.

The southeast Asian nation’s cabinet has now moved to cancel all previous exceptions made for the shipping line.

“The Malaysian government has decided to block Israel-based shipping company ZIM from anchoring in any Malaysian port,” the Mr Ibrahim said.

In addition to ZIM, ships flying the Israel flag or on their way to Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in Malaysia. The ban took effect from 20 December 2023 and also applied to vessels that were due to arrive at Port Klang around Christmas. 

Mr Ibrahim said the sanctions are a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he said “disregard the basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and continuous cruelty against the Palestinian people.” 

In October, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in response to a terrorist attack carried out by Hamas militants into southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The Israeli offensive is ongoing and has reportedly killed an estimated 20,000 people in the Gaza strip.