Israel Finally Lifts Sea Blockade Spelling Relief for Beirut Hospital

September 08, 2006 10:10 AM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

Israel's lift of the sea blockade of Lebanon is good news for Beirut's American University Hospital, which stared down a fuel shortage that threatened to bring operations to a halt. The blockade began with the July 12 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and was aimed at keeping arms and fuel from the Shiite militia group.

Owners of the oil tanker Afrodite, which sat in the Eastern Mediterranean waiting to bring its much-needed fuel to the Port of Beirut, confirmed to ABC News that the ship has made it to Lebanon. The Blotter has been reporting on the daily struggles of Afrodite's attempt to resupply Beirut's hospital over the last few weeks.

"Afrodite finally got permission to discharge at Tripoli in northern Lebanon a week after ceasefire," Tsakos Energy Navigation CFO Paul Durham told ABC News. The Afrodite's sister-ship, the Ariadne, was also able to access Beirut once a ceasefire was declared. "Both vessels discharged safely and are now heading elsewhere," Durham said.   

Operations at the hospital are returning to normal and almost all the American University Medical School students are back on campus -- only three opted to study abroad for the academic year that followed this summer's conflict.

After the ceasefire, American University Hospital saw an influx of patients wounded by war, some of them transferred from southern Lebanon where firefights were more common and more concentrated. "We saw a rise in patients just after the cessation of hostilities, but it's leveling off now," Medical School Dean Nadim Cortas said.

The university received financial donations to help deal with the influx of patients, many of whom would presumably lack the means to pay for their own care.

Even as the hospital operates at full steam, the staff remains demoralized by the setbacks of the past two months. Among those challenges is making sure medical supplies remain stocked and doctors have the gasoline they need for the commute to work. "There's a feeling that there are difficult days ahead before we normalize for good," Cortas said. 

Are hospital officials worried that the ceasefire might be broken?  "We're hoping that this is a remote possibility, that there will be no need for the hostilities to resume," American University's George Tomey told ABC News. Tomey does confirm that they have a contingency plan ready in case that hope falls through.

September 8, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Disaster Averted: Oil on the Way for the Beirut's Besieged American University Hospital

August 15, 2006 1:18 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah may offer an end to fighting, but it's just the beginning of the work ahead for American University Hospital in Beirut.

Hospital officials say fuel shipments are expected to arrive this Thursday, ending the fuel shortage that many feared would force the hospital to shut down. The Blotter has been reporting on the desperate attempts by the U.N. to arrange for safe passage of the oil tanker Afrodite wading just outside Cyprus.

According to Dr. Nadim Cortas, Dean of the American University Medical Center, the hospital is already filled to 75 percent capacity and preparing for an incoming transfer of wounded patients from southern Lebanon. A quarter of the patients currently in the hospital, Cortas said, were wounded in the firefights between Israel and Hezbollah that began July 12.

"Things are improving. We're hoping to get some relief soon," acting University President George Tomey told ABC News this morning. "We've been told that some fuel will arrive Thursday [through a sea route]."

Tomey was unsure whether the Thursday delivery would mean that the Afrodite would pull into the port of Beirut. University officials and representatives of Tsakos Energy Navigation, which owns the Afrodite, have told ABC News that a smaller vessel might ferry between the tanker and the port of Beirut carrying the much-awaited fuel.

Tsakos CFO Paul Durham told ABC News last week that the Afrodite would not attempt to move into Lebanese waters until an unequivocal ceasefire had been declared. That ceasefire took effect on Monday morning, though since then there has been a smaller scale exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Israel's sea blockade of Lebanon continues. Reuters reported this morning that according to an Israeli military source, an air and sea blockade would remain until the implementation of an arms embargo that would prevent the rearming of Hezbollah. The Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

"The hostilities have stopped. We're just hoping this will hold," Tomey said. "We're hoping for better days."

August 15, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Despondent American University President Sees "No Relief in Sight"

August 10, 2006 4:15 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

The American University Hospital in Beirut is still without its fuel shipment although oil tankers wait just outside Lebanese waters. Today, the owners explained why.

The owners of the oil tanker Afrodite, one of the handful of ships destined for Beirut, tell ABC News they have received no written guarantee of safe passage from the Israeli Defense Forces and no offer of an escort from the U.S. Navy. This contradicts earlier rumors by university administrators that such offers had been made.

As profiled by the ABCNews.com Blotter over the last week, damage to Lebanon's power grid and Israel's marine blockade have caused power shortages around the country. In Beirut, the country's energy supplier, Electricite du Liban, has curbed its output for lack of fuel. Israel instituted the blockade in an effort to weaken Hezbollah, whose militants abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid last month.

The Afrodite is owned by Tsakos Energy Navigation, a Greek company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Paul Durham, Tsakos' Chief Financial Officer, spoke with ABC News earlier today.

"We have a cargo on board which we desperately want to deliver...that the people of Lebanon desperately need," Durham said.

But he also notes that "it's a hot war zone" and that for multiple reasons -- among them the safety of the 28 crew members onboard -- the ships are not willing to pass through the blockade until there is "an unequivocal ceasefire."

"We know nothing about a U.S. Navy offer to escort us. Even that, an escort while bombs are falling down, makes no sense. What we are doing is waiting and praying that there is peace."

The crew's safety is not Durham's only fear. The possibility of an oil spill caused by damage to the ship is not something Durham or Tsakos Energy Navigation is ready to risk.

"We do not want to contribute to an environmental disaster...The vessel could be hit [by stray shelling] and cause a leak of our cargo, which is fuel oil...quite nasty stuff. It's even worse than crude oil as far as pollutant is concerned."

ABC News asked Durham about the concern that a fuel delivery might end up in the hands of Hezbollah militants, thereby perpetuating their ability to wage war.

"This stuff is sticky fuel oil. It's used to power electricity stations and ships...their rockets would need high grade aviation fuel, I would imagine. I'm pretty sure this would not power a rocket."

The U.S. State Department has not provided comment despite repeated requests. The Israeli Embassy has not provided comment since last Wednesday, when spokesman David Siegel said, "We...urge all aid to be directed through the organized humanitarian mechanisms already in place through international organizations and the U.N."

American University of Beirut President John Waterbury just returned to Beirut yesterday. He spoke with ABC News after driving from Amman, Jordan through Lebanon's northern border with Syria. He expressed concern that fuel is running out. "The country has in the neighborhood of ten days' supply left," says Waterbury. "When that fuel runs out, we shut down."

"It's a very scary thought that it really never happened during the civil war, we always found a way to keep going."

Waterbury says the University, like the rest of the country, has begun rationing what fuel is left. "You make some projections on current consumption, but the next day's consumption goes down," says Waterbury. "So ten days may be the estimate tomorrow. It's not a lot. There's no significant relief in sight."

But Waterbury says, morale at the hospital remains high as both employees and patients continue to hope for a solution. "If this hospital closes, some part of Lebanon's soul is going to close," he says. "When all else fails, AUB's hospital always finds a way."

As for his personal thoughts on the situation at large, Tsakos CFO Paul Durham shares this sentiment from his view of the conflict in Athens, Greece, "Greeks have good relationships with the Lebanese and with the Israelis. To see two friends fighting like that and so much death is tragic."

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August 10, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Confusion on the High Seas: American Hospital Still Short on Oil

August 08, 2006 7:05 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

Despite a swirl of rumors, the oil tanker Afrodite is still waiting in the Mediterranean, and the American University Hospital is still waiting for its shipment of fuel. And time is running out.

Dr. Nadim Cortas, dean of the medical center, says that for now the hospital is still operating, but only because two days ago Lebanon's electricity provider put all hospitals on a priority list to receive power. 

But, says Cortas, "It all depends on how much reserves the government has to get to the electricity company. We start to fail when they fail." And without government electricity, Cortas says, the hospital only has reserves to last "seven to 10 days."

The captain of the Afrodite and the ship's owner Tsakos Energy Navigation, the subsidiary of a Greek-owned company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has said the ship wouldn't proceed through the blockade without a written guarantee of safe passage from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). When ABC News asked a Tsakos representative what is causing the hold-up, he refused to comment.

According to one American University administrator, U.S. State Department officials told him that the IDF is prepared to provide Afrodite with a written guarantee of safety and that the U.S. Navy is willing to escort the tanker. Neither the Israeli Embassy nor the U.S. State Department has confirmed the story, despite repeated requests from ABC News.

The World Health Organization warned yesterday that "if fuel is not delivered this week, 60 percent of all hospitals in Lebanon will cease to function."

Read ABC News' full coverage on Beirut hospital out of gas.

August 8, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Stalemate on High Seas: Still No Fuel for Beirut Hospital

August 04, 2006 1:42 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

The oil tanker Afrodite is still wading in the Mediterranean, and the American University Hospital is still waiting for its shipment of fuel.

A U.N. official in Beirut confirmed that the ship is ready to deliver its cargo, but that its captain won't pull in unless it gets a guarantee of safe passage from the Israeli military. Israel has agreed to let the ship pass, but so far has not provided the written assurance of safety that the Afrodite's captain wants. Israel has granted a humanitarian corridor through its embargo of Lebanon for the purpose of transporting aid to the Lebanese.

ABC News has called the Israeli Embassy several times to ask what it would take to resolve the stalemate, but their spokesman was repeatedly unavailable for comment.

As reported on the Blotter, American University Hospital near downtown Beirut is running low on fuel and at risk of shutting down operations. With infrastructure damaged, Lebanese energy supplier Electricite du Liban has ceased to provide steady service.

Bill Hoffman, an American University spokesman in Washington D.C., told ABC News today that yesterday's damage to bridges and roads in northern Lebanon cut off the last clear ground route for the transport of oil and supplies. This makes it much harder, Hoffman said, to keep the hospital operating.

"[American University] President John Waterbury has informed high-ranking American officials at the State Department and Department of Defense that he's preparing to transfer non-emergency patients out of the hospital to conserve energy. Where they'll go is far from clear -- there's no hospital in better shape than we are," Hoffman added. 

Meanwhile, alumni in the United States are reacting with concern to the possible shutdown of the American University Hospital, seeing it as a threat to the university they love and the healthcare it provides.

"AUB is not just another hospital. It represents the best of the American people to the Lebanese people," said Dr. Jacques Tohme, a graduate of the university's medical school and former head of the alumni association. 

"If truly Israel is saying the war is not against the people of Lebanon, this is a chance for them to show they really mean it." 

August 4, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (33)

Readers Respond to "Beirut's ER: Time's Running Out"

August 03, 2006 1:13 PM

Krista Kjellman Reports:

"Beirut's ER: Time's Running Out" garnered hundreds of comments from concerned readers, who, until reading the blotter, had been unaware of the hospital's dire situation.  Unlike many in the past, these comments transcended religious affiliations and political preferences.  Instead, many of the readers called for more coverage of the "humanitarian crisis," or as one reader Rouba described it, "Blocking fuel because it may be used for Hezbollah's weaponry is almost like saying that food should be blocked because it may be used to keep Hezbollah fighters alive." While ABC News may have published it in the blotter, readers said that was not enough.

"ABC, thank you for what you are doing but I beg you not to do half a job. Have the integrity to make this situation known to everyone involved in this catastrophe and to shame politicians into showing some humanity to this broken country," wrote Margaret.   

"Why isn't this on the air? Why isn't the media focusing on what is truly important here?  Please do your job as a news center and provide people with this vital information!!" Natasha said

"This story needs to be told and quickly, time is running out, this is when journalism should make a difference, I hope ABC's morals are not swayed by any political pressure. You would help allow for fuel to be brought in Lebanon," Dima Karam wrote.

Others chose to direct their calls for more coverage to the international community, saying they were as much responsible for resolving the situation as the parties directly involved in the conflict.

"When will the world realize that human life is equal everywhere? Superpowers seem to find no problem in letting the crisis go on for weeks....Are the "civilians" of Lebanon any less human than the civilians of the superpower nations?" Mireille asked.

"How many times does the western world have to "learn" the same lessons again and again: Bosnia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan... All mourn with crocodile tears after atrocities are perpetrated, but do little to stop them when they can. Act NOW! Your HUMANITY is calling you! Whichever nationality you are from!" Maria wrote.

And finally, one comment stood out among the rest.  It was a call, a plea from an employee at the very hospital in crisis.

"I am a pediatric neurologist at the American University of Beirut. Today Israel threatened to bomb Beirut. I went to clinic this afternoon expecting no one to be there with this ominous warning blaring from every TV, and radio every few minutes. I was wrong. Parents braved danger and brought their children with epilepsy, suspected genetic disorders and autism. The sick need help, even at times like these. I cannot fathom my hospital will shut down. ABC news, please air this story and bring our plight to the forefront. WE NEED FUEL!!!!" Rose-Mary Boustany wrote.

August 3, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (27)

Beirut Hospital: Oil Still Out of Reach

August 02, 2006 3:29 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

As the American University Hospital in Beirut uses the last of its oil, the best chance for more sits on an oil tanker called the Afrodite waiting off the Lebanese coast halted by an Israeli blockade.  As ABC News previously reported, Israeli forces are worried the fuel could be used by Hezbollah in the conflict with Israel.

ABC News has since learned that at one point the Afrodite received the green light from the U.N. to deliver its supply, but the ship's captain was not convinced.  "The captain wants assurances from the Israeli Defense Forces that he'll be given safe passage," acting University President George Tomey told ABC News.

Tomey says the hospital received some fuel today from the country's reserve supply, but only enough for one day's consumption.  The University has started to economize its energy use by shutting off the central air conditioning system on campus and raising the hospital's thermostat. 

But the hospital is not the only one facing an energy crisis.  The Daily Star, Lebanon's English language newspaper, reported Monday that according to oil importer Bahij Abu Hamzeh, the country has "enough [fuel] stock to last 10 days, after which if no imports of fuel are allowed there will be a disaster. Some gas stations have already posted handwritten signs that read, 'Out of gas, sorry,' and 'No gas today, try Monday.'"

At times during the Lebanese Civil War that lasted from 1975 to 1990, Israeli forces kept the hospital supplied with the oil needed to operate smoothly. It's the kind of cooperative humanitarian effort that doctors and university administrators are hoping will take place.

David Siegel, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, said in a statement to ABC News, "We attach great importance to humanitarian aid and urge all aid to be directed through the organized humanitarian mechanisms already in place through international organizations and the U.N."

If the hospital's oil supply continues to dwindle, operations at Beirut's American University Hospital will most likely be shut down.

"I have never closed the hospital through all the years of Civil War," acting President Tomey told ABC News. "We have never witnessed a situation like this."   

August 2, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (34)

Beirut ER: Time's Running Out

July 31, 2006 7:10 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:

There is not much time left before the lights will go out at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. Oil tankers ready to deliver the much-needed fuel are standing by in nearby waters, but they are being kept out by the Israel's blockade.

The hospital has only enough oil to fuel their generators for a maximum of 20 days, or as little as seven days if the state cuts off the little power it now provides, according to Dr. Nadim Cortas, Dean of the medical program.

Israel and others may fear the fuel those tankers carry would go to Hezbollah fighters, used for their trucks and artillery. But Cortas argues this point.

"We see no reason why there should be a blockade on fuel delivery. It could be conditional, only going to hospitals, and it can be monitored. It wouldn't go straight to [Hezbollah] warriors. The blockade…has no benefit to Israel except to inflict more suffering on the civilian population."

What he and other doctors are hoping is that Israel will let the oil through, with either the Lebanese government or third-party agencies, like the Red Cross, making sure it gets to the hospital.

American University Medical Center is Lebanon's biggest and most important hospital. But with the electric grid damaged and the current shortage of fuel, the lights could very well go out for the  healthcare provider.

Without the Medical Center, more refugees would likely get their healthcare from Hezbollah's grassroots aid efforts. Hezbollah currently hands out food and care in many of the makeshift shelters around Beirut housing refugees from the south of Lebanon and southern suburbs of Beirut.

If power runs out, it's unclear what would happen to the dozens of refugees and war injured at the hospital, not to mention the routine patients waiting to give birth or receive organ transplants.

"[The Hospital] has received dozens of injured and will receive transfers of dozens more from the south," Dr. Cortas says. "And we've said yes to all of them. Payment is no issue."

July 31, 2006 in Beirut Hospital Out of Gas | Permalink | User Comments (2928)