The floating dock that the US had built in front of Gaza was destroyed

(CNN) — A floating dock built by the US military to deliver aid to Gaza broke down amid rough seas on Sunday, dealing a blow to a US-led effort to create a sea corridor for humanitarian supplies to the war-torn region, according to four US officials.

A portion of the dock, which includes a narrow passage for aid to Gaza and a wider parking area for dropping off supplies transported by ship, was taken offline on Sunday, officials said. The parking area will need to be reconnected to the roadway before the dock can be used again.

The incident came a day after a storm forced two small US military ships to beach themselves in Israel, while two other vessels broke free of their moorings and were sitting anchored near a dock, according to US Central Command.

Efforts to rebuild the road and once again connect it to the parking area will resume when sea conditions are favourable, officials said.

The dock, which cost $320 million, had barely resumed operations on May 17 before stormy seas forced a halt to marine shipments a week later on May 24, two days before a portion of the dock went offline. It is unknown when shipments will resume.

The floating dock, called Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), requires very good sea conditions to operate. CNN previously reported that JLOTS can only be operated safely in waves of a maximum of 91 centimeters (3 feet) and winds less than about 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph).

Severe sea conditions delayed the deployment of the dock for several weeks while the system berthed in the Israeli port of Ashdod awaiting favorable conditions.

The United States stressed that the temporary ferry was intended only to increase humanitarian shipments passing through the land crossing between Israel and Gaza.

On Thursday, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of the US Central Command, said that 820 metric tons of aid had been delivered via the ferry to Gaza Beach, where the UN was responsible for distributing it to the Palestinian population.

Daniel Dieckhaus, director of USAID’s Levant Response Management Team, told reporters on Thursday that “thousands of tons” of aid are waiting to be delivered via the sea corridor in Cyprus. Those shipments are currently on hold due to the condition of the docks.