The US announced that the floating pier designed to boost aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip will “soon cease operations,” less than two months after its installation. The decision follows difficulties re-anchoring the pier due to “technical and weather-related issues.” The pier was removed on June 28 due to bad weather.
A Pentagon spokesman noted that over 8,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been delivered via the pier while it was operational. He emphasized that the pier was always intended as a temporary solution. Initially, US officials expected it to remain until August or September, but challenging weather conditions emerged almost immediately after it started on May 17.
Despite being a flagship project announced by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address in March, the JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore) operation faced numerous setbacks. In late May, stormy weather caused four small landing craft to break loose and wash ashore. Subsequently, parts of the pier were removed for repairs and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
By mid-June, the entire structure, built by US engineers at a cost of $230 million, was temporarily relocated to Ashdod due to weather concerns. “Temporarily relocating the pier will prevent structural damage caused by the heightened sea state,” the Pentagon said at the time.
The pier was re-anchored on June 19, but operations paused again less than a week later for “scheduled maintenance activities.
