{"id":290,"date":"2017-03-03T20:51:37","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T20:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/en\/?p=290"},"modified":"2017-03-03T20:51:37","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T20:51:37","slug":"the-boc-blast-188-3-03-17-ocean-carriers-warn-of-cargo-diversions-as-port-strikes-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/the-boc-blast-188-3-03-17-ocean-carriers-warn-of-cargo-diversions-as-port-strikes-loom\/","title":{"rendered":"The BOC Blast 188 3-03-17 – Ocean carriers warn of cargo diversions as port strikes loom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nOcean carriers warn of cargo diversions as port strikes loom<\/strong>
\nBy Alexander Whiteman
\n02\/03\/2017
\nMaersk Line has warned shippers that some cargo will be re-routed or diverted to avoid strikes in Spanish ports.
\nIn response to the\u00a0 labour disputes in Spanish ports next week, the carrier will divert westbound services to avoid Algeciras.
\nMembers of the International Dockworkers Union will strike every other day between 6 and 25 March following the Spanish government\u2019s decision to alter legislation and adhere to the EU Treaty\u2019s freedom of establishment principle.
\nA spokesperson advised: \u201cAs a customer of Spanish ports highly dependent on undisrupted terminal operations, Maersk Line hoped for a positive solution to the dispute and has been committed to a constructive dialogue with all parties. Regretfully, stevedores\u2019 unions have announced a series of strikes.\u201d
\nUnder current Spanish law, all dockworkers must be members of stevedoring societies, known as Sociedad Anonima de Gestion de Estibadores Portuarios (Sageps), which recruit and train port workers before making them available to terminal and cargo operators.
\nThe European Court of Justice ruled that this limits employer options for sourcing workers and last July levied a \u20ac15.6m fine on Spain\u2019s government, adding a \u20ac134,000 daily penalty until amendments are made.
\nHowever, the International Dockworkers Community (IDC) argued that the Spanish government sought to make the change without consultation.
\nMaersk said it would re-route vessels from Algeciras to other facilities in the Mediterranean where it has secured capacity. Eastbound services and transhipment connections will continue to call at the Spanish port.
\nThe carrier said some shippers may experience vessel re-routing, port omissions and additional transhipment of cargo.
\n\u201cKindly note that this is an exceptional situation and contingency plans may be subject to change due to urgent or unforeseen circumstances,\u201d added the line.
\n\u201cWe remain committed to providing \u2026 timely updates and will continue to do so as the situation develops and as soon as new information is available.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd has warned that while industrial action in Gothenburg has ended, the \u201cnegative impact\u201d from the Dockworkers\u2019 Union strike continues and it has diverted its Gothenburg express service to Varberg until further notice.
\n\u201cOvertime work at the terminal is still voluntary and there is currently quite a high rate of absence,\u201d said the carrier in a statement.
\nBy Alexander Whiteman
\n02\/03\/2017
\n\u201cA high-level meeting last week between terminal management and the IDC ended without any results, therefore we are expecting more notices of strikes and blockades.\u201d
\nThe carrier added it could not \u201cunder any circumstances\u201d absorb any additional costs arising from the situation in Gothenburg, advising shippers to book \u201cas much cargo as possible via Vargberg\u201d to ease the situation and avoid the risk of waiting-time, short-shipment and storage costs.
\nThe carrier\u2019s Loop 7 and Sweden Denmark Express services will still call at Gothenburg, while calls to Helsingborg and Halmstad are not affected.
\nThe action in Spain and Sweden has been supported by US International Longshoremen\u2019s Association (ILA) vice president Kenneth Riley, who visited the ports last week to \u201cbuild solidarity\u201d and boost his own call for action at American east coast ports.
\nHowever, ILA president Harold Daggett this week countered Mr Riley\u2019s calls and urged members not to engage in any work stoppage or any other violations of the ILA\u2019s current master contract.
\n\u201cWe hear your anger, we hear your frustration and we intend to address it,\u201d said Mr Daggett. \u201cWith a delegation of ILA leaders, I will be heading to Washington to seek help for our industry from Congress.
\n\u201cI am confident Congress will understand the urgency of our issues and help us resolve all problems.\u201d
\nMr Riley has called for a shutdown of US east coast ports in protest over mounting jobs losses and ongoing interference by the South Carolina Port Authority \u2013 Mr Riley also presides over the ILA Local 1422 Charleston South Carolina \u2013 and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbour.
\nHe initially called for east coast ILA dockworkers to march on Washington on 27 February to vent their displeasure at practices that \u201cdeliberately reduced dockworker numbers\u201d.
\nThis date was pushed back by a \u201cweek or so\u201d, with Mr Riley telling The Loadstar the postponement had been made to \u201ceducate rank and file members\u201d and industry stakeholders.
\nAsked by The Loadstar if Mr Daggett had given his support to the planned protest, Mr Riley said they had not consulted the national branch of the ILA, noting that \u201cthis was a rank and file decision\u201d.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ocean carriers warn of cargo diversions as port strikes loom By Alexander Whiteman 02\/03\/2017 Maersk Line has warned shippers that some cargo will be re-routed or diverted to avoid strikes in Spanish ports. In response to the\u00a0 labour disputes in Spanish ports next week, the carrier will divert westbound services to avoid Algeciras. Members of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-boc-blast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bocintl.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}