Syria port authority shuts all ports due to bad weather

There are winds and high waves in bursts, Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli says

Waves crash during high winds in the Syrian port city of Banias, Syria, Mar 29, 2023. SANA/REUTERS

Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported on Wednesday.

The port of Tartous had initially been exempt from the closure but the country's ports authority later said it was shutting down as conditions worsened.

"There are winds and high waves in bursts and we cannot risk opening the ports at this time," Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli, the director general of the authority, told Reuters.

The war-ravaged country operates seven sea ports through which it brings in basic needs including food and petroleum products.

Kobrosli said the port authority's decision did not include oil terminals. There was no immediate comment from Syria's oil ministry on whether the terminals were operational.

The winds also caused a power blackout across the southern province of Sweida after a number of electrical towers collapsed, according to Syrian state TV.