of the Ashdod power station. There it was loaded on railcars for transport to the power station at Zikim. In 1988 the building of pier 9 was completed, which made possible the unloading of 2.5 million tons coal per year. In August 1989, the building of a conveyor, which transports coal from pier 9 to the coal yard, was completed, and with it the Port of Ashdod's preparation for the "coal age" was concluded on schedule. In September 1989, the 120,000 ton collier M.S. Leon entered port with 85,000 tons of coal. The coal was unloaded by crane unto the conveyor and taken to the Coal Company at the rear of the Ashdod power station. The big ship was brought into port by modern Voit-Schneider type tugboats, which have an exceptional maneuverability and a bollard pull of 35 and 45 tons respectively. Bringing 160,00 G.R.T. ships into the port (at partial load capacity) is a considerable accomplishment in view of the fact that the Port of Ashdod was intended for navigation by ships of maximum deadweight of 30,000 tons (before the port was expanded in the 2000s). In 2000, a deepwater coal pier was completed at the Rutenberg Power Station site which made transporting coal by rail from Ashdod no longer necessary. Bulk handling Minerals The specialized minerals handling pier was opened in 1967. In 1979 more modern systems were added to the old ones. All are computer controlled. The bulk installations can store 240,000 tons of phosphates (in 10 separate categories) and 140,000 tons of potash (separated in 5 categories). The minerals arrive in the port in special railcars and trucks. Their discharge into the stores is carried out by conveyor systems and heaping machinery, at a rate of 800 to 1,500 tons per hour. The loading onto ships is carried out by two loaders, one at a rate of 800 tons per hour and the other at 1,600 tons per hour. Another loader is to be installed shortly to speed the operation. The potash loading ships anchor at the dolphins, where the water's depth is 12.5 meters, allowing the mooring of Panamax ships of up to 225 meters in length and 60,000 tons capacity. Grain Although the rear of the port area contains a large grain elevator, the port's grain unloading capacity is constrained by the fact that grain has to be transported from the docks to the