The Port of Haifa (Hebrew: נמל חיפה) is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, the others being the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. It has a natural deep-water harbor, which operates all year long, and serves both passenger and merchant ships. It is one of the largest ports in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of freight volume and handles about 30 million tons of cargo per year (not including Israel Shipyards' port). The port employs over 1,000 people, rising to 5,000 when cruise ships dock in Haifa. The Port of Haifa lies to the north of Haifa's downtown quarter on the Mediterranean, and stretches to some three kilometres along the city's central shore with activities ranging from military, industrial and commercial next to a nowadays-smaller passenger cruising facility.