Haifa Tugboat Men Refuse to Tow Ship Owned by Italian Boycott-backers

Haifa tugboat men have refused to tow a damaged Italian ship beyond Israeli territorial waters today on grounds that they would be abetting the Arab boycott. The Italian-flag M/S Altair, a chemical tanker, was towed into Haifa last week after her engines broke down. Her owners decided to have repairs made in Italy and dispatched Italian salvage tugs to pick up the ship. But the salvagers refused to let their craft enter Israeli waters for fear of being placed on the Arab blacklist. Haifa Port Authority tugs were asked to tow the Altair out to sea where she would be picked up by the Italian salvage tugs. But the Israeli tug crews insist that either the Italian tugs pick up their charge in Haifa or Israeli tugs get the job of towing the vessel to Italy.