Port Strikes News

The loading of five cargo ships in different grains ports in Argentina has been stalled for days due to strikes by port workers, the labor union representing the employees and an industry source said on Wednesday.ADM and the local ACA cooperative have each had a ship waiting since Saturday to complete cargo loading at the companies' terminals in Puerto General San Martín and San Lorenzo, the shipping hub north of Rosario, according to the URGARA union.Another ADM ship and one for Louis Dreyfus are also waiting to be loaded in the port of Bahía Blanca.

The news this week that a longshoremen’s strike had effectively stopped cargo operations at the port of Baltimore, a major hub for foreign car imports into the U.S., underlines a new warning by The Strike Club. Strikes by stevedores continue to dominate the list of perils causing delays, reports the mutual insurer after a recent analysis of its claims files. In the 2012-2013 policy year, they accounted for 16.8%, followed by collision (14.4%), closure of port or sealane (13.6%), and strikes by port workers (also 13.6%). Total net claims for the year were $16.8m, with mutual claims accounting for $12.0m net. A somewhat similar picture emerges from a review of the five-year period 2008-2013: closure of port or sealane (17.2%)…

The Strike Club, an insurer of shipowners and charterers seeking insurance protection against delays in the marine trades, is experiencing a stronger uptake of its covers, whether for mutual entries or for the fixed-premium covers for war risks, loss of earnings (LoE) and bespoke delay risks. LoE business is particularly strong, and the club now offers an increased limit of $4 million each incident (up from $3.375 million). The club, now in its 56th year of trading, has an S&P rating of BBB+ with stable outlook. This was reconfirmed by the rating agency after it announced new criteria for the rating of insurance companies, including 14 marine mutual insurers.

The early months of 2013 have been marked by damaging labor strike action in several countries which has punished shipowners and charterers even though they are innocent parties, says The Strike Club, the market leader for delay insurance for the marine trades. Some of the worst trouble spots in recent weeks have been in South America, particularly Chile where a three-week strike crippled the country’s key ports, blocking exports of copper (Chile is the world’s largest producer of this metal), fruit and wood products. Chile’s business leaders estimated the country lost more than $200 million a day due to the conflict. There has been a miners’ strike in Colombia…

Update on United States Maritime Alliance and International Longshoremen's Association labor contract negotiations. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George H. "The United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association conducted negotiations during the three day period January 15-17, 2013. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 10 district offices and 67 field offices, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.

A US East & Gulf Coasts port labor strike could further destabilize international trade says a new report. A potential labor strike by longshoremen along the US East and Gulf Coasts at the end of the year could have devastating economic consequences as inventory depletion, rerouting, hoarding, and price speculation ripple through supply chains of global companies, Marsh warns in a new report. The longshoremen’s labor contract with port operators along the East and Gulf Coasts is set to expire December 29, 2012. If a compromise cannot be reached, ports from Maine to Texas could see work stoppages—similar to what was experienced the past eight days with the clerical workers’ strike at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

Shipper groups say the introduction of green fuel taxes will not reduce emissions. They claim that shipping lines will not switch to more environmentally-friendly fuels or more efficient ships, they will simply add yet another surcharge to the rates they charge their customers. Most of the talk from the shipping sector and governmental organizations involves the establishment of a levy or tax on fuel that is proportionate to the level of emissions from each ship. The way to reduce such charges would be to score well on the recently-approved Energy Efficiency Design Index for ships, as agreed by the International Maritime Organization. Shippers, including the Global Shippers Forum, the British Shippers’ Council and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) say this strategy will not work.