Temporary Removal and Repair of US-built Pier in Gaza Following Damage
According to the Pentagon, ‘High sea states and a North African weather system’ caused a portion of the $320 million Trident Pier to detach.
The Pentagon has reported that a temporary maritime pier, constructed by the United States to deliver aid to Gaza, has been damaged by heavy seas and will require repairs.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced at a press conference on Tuesday that due to ‘high sea states and a North African weather system,’ a part of the pier, estimated to cost $320 million, broke off.
The damaged incident occurred on Tuesday, resulting in a portion of the Trident Pier detaching, requiring repairs, as per the Pentagon.
Moving forward, U.S. forces will remove the pier from its anchored position on the coast over the next two days and tow it back to the Israeli coastal city of Ashdod for repairs under U.S. Central Command.
Ms. Singh stated that rebuilding and repairing the pier will take ‘at least over a week,’ and once completed, it will need to be re-anchored off the coast of Gaza.
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The accident on Tuesday follows a previous incident on Saturday where heavy seas caused four U.S. Army boats to break free from their anchors and get beached, clarified the Pentagon.
‘Unfortunate Confluence of Weather Storms’
The four boats are part of U.S. Central Command’s Joint Logistics, Over-the-Shore capability and are currently being used to stabilize the pier. They became beached after losing power.
Currently, only one of the beached vessels has been retrieved, with the second expected to be recovered near Ashkelon within the next 24 hours, and the remaining two vessels by the pier in the next 48 hours.
Ms. Singh stated, “It was operational until we had an unfortunate confluence of weather storms that rendered it inoperable temporarily. Hopefully, within a little over a week, we should be operational again.”
The floating maritime pier in Gaza was initially announced by President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address in March, aiming to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Pier ‘Highly Valuable’ in Delivering Aid
Despite its value in aid delivery, the pier has faced challenges, including an alleged mortar attack in April causing minimal damage near the marshaling yard area.
Recently, three U.S. troops sustained non-combat injuries while assisting in pier construction, one in critical condition at an Israeli hospital as per the Pentagon.
The pier’s construction has been critiqued by Republican lawmakers over safety concerns for U.S. soldiers, although the Pentagon has assured of no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza.
Ms. Singh emphasized during the press conference that the pier has been “highly valuable” for aid delivery in Gaza.
She concluded, “Upon completion of the pier repair and reassembly, the intention is to re-anchor the temporary pier off the coast of Gaza and resume essential humanitarian aid to those in need.”
“We believe that, considering the season, we will be able to re-anchor the pier to be operational and hopefully not impacted by adverse weather conditions,” Ms. Singh added.
