It is reported that: Recently, large-scale strikes have broken out or are about to break out in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. The yards and terminals are full, and shipping and delivery dates are facing huge delays. Europe is in a hurry!
Shipping company Maersk is also looking for less congested Nordic ports and is trying to transfer imported containers to warehouses outside the terminal through land transportation to ease congestion in European ports and reduce the impact of strikes.
▲Maersk issued an announcement on European port congestion
Strike at the port of Antwerp, Belgium
It is understood that the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, one of Europe’s largest ports, is preparing for another strike at a time when Belgium’s port facilities are experiencing untimely severe congestion.
Many unions in Belgium are planning a nationwide strike next Monday to demand higher wages, greater dialogue and public sector investment.
Antwerp’s terminal density is already as high as 80%, and Monday’s 24-hour nationwide strike will only extend the waiting time for ships to berth.
Maersk believes that the “long stay” of imported containers will affect terminal operations and have a knock-on impact on ship delays.
“Due to the active involvement of our employees in port-related work, our operational activities are subject to restrictions,” the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) said in a notice to PSA’s international customers.
PSA is the main terminal operator in Antwerp, Belgium, the European flagship port of Singaporean port operator PSA.
Due to increased terminal congestion, Hapag-Lloyd suspended barge services at the Port of Antwerp this month. Barge operators warned a week ago that waiting times for ships at the port of Antwerp had increased from 33 hours at the end of May to 46 hours on June 9.
Strikes at five major German ports
Recently, port workers at Germany’s five major ports launched a four-hour “warning strike” during the night shift to support the ongoing labor negotiations between the dock unions and port operators!
And just last Saturday, the first round of negotiations between the union and the port operator failed, and the situation became even more serious!
It is reported that the second round of negotiations is planned to be held on Tuesday, June 21, but this negotiation may also lead to further strike action, leaving the port operator very passive.
Shipping company Maersk said: “We are closely following the negotiations between Verdi, Germany’s largest service industry union, and the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS). The possibility of further strikes is very high.”
The possibility of further strikes by dock workers will make the already congested German ports even worse!
Moreover, congestion in Bremerhaven has reached “critical levels”, while the density of storage yards in the Port of Hamburg is “incredibly high”!
Facing the clogged terminals, Maersk issued a warning: If the cargo cannot be picked up within a reasonable time, it will begin to transfer the containers that have not been picked up for a long time to outside the terminal.
British rail strike
In addition to the congestion at major European ports, overflowing storage yards and imminent strike crisis, railway transportation is not optimistic in the near future!
It is reported that the largest railway strike in the UK in nearly a century will break out!
The British Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) announced on Tuesday that it would hold a three-day strike on June 21, 23 and 25 to resolve disputes with management over redundancies and wages and benefits. Network Rail warned that it would be a three-day strike. The rail strike will cause six days of disruption (from the first strike on June 21 to the day after the third strike).
The strike involves Network Rail’s 13 train operating companies, covering multiple railway lines in England and Scotland, covering almost the entire British rail transport network.
If the strike goes ahead, less than a fifth of trains are likely to run, and services will only run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, and likely only on main lines.
It is reported that the planned RMT strike is the largest rail strike in the UK in nearly a century and will bring the country to a standstill at the end of the month as thousands of workers protest over wages, jobs and pensions.
On one side are overcrowded yards and docks, and on the other side are dock/railway workers preparing to go on strike to protest wages and benefits. Under a double blow, shipping schedules and delivery times will be further delayed!
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