Israel uses cargo ships to repatriate doctors stranded abroad by war

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, March 3 (Reuters) - Israeli authorities are using container ships to bring back dozens of essential medical staff stuck abroad after the air war with Iran broke out on Saturday, disrupting travel, according to Israel's cargo firm ZIM Shipping.

A ZIM official told Reuters on Tuesday that its cargo ships were shuttling between Limassol in Cyprus and the Israeli port of Haifa, in an operation coordinated between the Transportation Ministry, major Israeli hospitals and the company.

So far, 40 doctors have returned in two sailings - including one on Tuesday - and more shuttles are planned this week to repatriate what could be hundreds of doctors, to deal with Israelis injured by Iranian missiles.

"It's the easiest way to get them home when there are no flights," said the official, who asked not to be named.

The doctors were away either at conventions or on holidays and now sought to "go back as fast as possible to their jobs in case of emergencies", he added.

ZIM was re-routing ships from usual shipping routes between Israel and Mediterranean ports such as in Greece and Italy, and making makeshift arrangements on the cargo vessels to keep the doctors safe and comfortable during the 15-hour voyage from Cyprus.

Israel and the U.S. began bombing Iran on Saturday, triggering a wave of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East that have led to flight chaos, with hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded worldwide due to the closure of airspaces.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the campaign could last weeks.

Israeli airlines have begun repatriation flights via Taba in Egypt, which ​borders the Red Sea resort city of Eilat in southern Israel. However, passengers must then travel north to major cities, which takes hours by car or bus.

"This (cargo ship option) is far more efficient and easy," the official said.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer, editing by Andrei Khalip)