Ashdod Port
Ashdod Israel
The Ashdod Port, which opened November 3, 1965, is now the most important port in Israel. Originally the only ports were at Haifa and Eilat, but the need soon became apparent for a major port that could handle larger cargoes and was closer to the commercial hub of the country.
Ashdod Port (Photo: מרכז קדם לטיולים, CC BY 2.5)
In 1954, the Israel government decided that a deep-water port should be opened at the mouth of the Lachish River and that a new city should be built there: Ashdod.
Port of Ashdod
The Ashdod Port is located close to Tel Aviv and all the towns in central Israel and the major highways. Besides being the main port for loading and unloading cargo, Ashdod Port now also accommodates passenger cruises in a terminal that is one of the most advanced in the world.
When the passenger arrives, the Port offers air-conditioned shuttle service from the parking lot to the terminal, and when the passengers return from the cruise the Port shuttles them back again to the parking lot. As private-vehicle entry into the Port is restricted, this is the only way passengers can enter the terminal to board cruise ships. After going through passport control and security the passengers can shop at two duty-free shops. There is also a cafeteria in the terminal and a money-changer.
Ship at Port (Photo: צילום:ד”ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5)
Ashdod Port Visitors Center
The Port has a Visitors Center that is open to various groups, such as schoolchildren over age 12, community centers, business clients, importers and exporters, military units and more. Visitors to the center see a movie and are taken on a guided tour along the piers. For further information about the Center call: (08) 851-7655 or 050-725-7667.
Ashdod Port Development
The high-tech development of the Port has made it possible to receive even super tankers. Interestingly, the port of Ashdod is unique, as it is one of the world’s few deep-water ports built right onto the open sea. This required very high-tech engineering skills and know-how.
Sami Shamoon Engineering College (Photo: Yaakov2, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Ashdod Engineering College
Ashdod is home to Israel’s largest engineering college, the Sami Shamoon Engineering College (SCE), which also has a branch in Be’er Sheva. It opened in 1995 to help train the engineers needed for the rapidly developing south. Studies at SCE are geared to industry and many students also work while learning. SCE does not require students to pass psychometric entrance exams since they are considered to be culturally discriminating, but rather psychotechnic entrance exams that show the potential and actual knowledge of the student. SCE offers a chance to earn a BSc degree in the following fields: Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering and Management.
SCE also has an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (EIC) that has strong ties to industry, so that both students and faculty can have the opportunity to launch initiatives and to lead in advancing technological enterprises.
SCE is the first institution of higher learning in Israel to have established a Nanoprofessor Nanoscience education program, which is expected to provide a skilled workforce for the 65 Israeli companies engaged in nanotechnology.
In the gardens of SCE are brightly colored horse and giant orange sculptures.
The college is located at 84 Jabotinski Street. For further information Email info@sce.ac.il or Phone: 1-800-207-777.
Ashdod Port: Did You Know?
Ashdod’s Shamoon College of Engineering entered the Guinness Book of records! They were one of the 14 Israel institutes of higher learning that conducted the largest-ever chemistry class experiment, in which the “chemical gene” experiment that had been conducted by the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon in space was replicated.
