Ships were ordered to leave Haifa harbor and to anchor outside the breakwater after an overnight storm drove waves to heights of more than three meters (10 feet), and a harbor pilot boat sank after the surf forced it into a wharf, Israel Radio reported Sunday.

It said the high waves covered the harbor breakwater, built by British authorities during the pre-state Mandate period.

The collision with the wharf opened cracks in the hull of the stricken boat, used to guide ships in and out of the breakwater. Water then entered, sinking the vessel.