[230111.EN.SEA] Four-day French Port Strike Underway, Hapag-Lloyd Avoid France

A FOUR-DAY strike is underway until Monday at Marseilles-Fos, Le Havre, Brest, Montoir and Dunkirk as French dockers protest late retirement laws and privatising port reforms, which has crane drivers transferring from the public to the private sector. 

Hapag-Lloyd has cancelled calls at Le Havre and Marseille-Fos. "As a consequence of the strikes decided by port workers and crane drivers, our vessels will omit their calls at Fos and Le Havre until further notice.

"The situation is beyond carrier control and all containers that have entered the terminals, as of 14 January, will be subject to all existing charges as per tariff conditions or local terminal charges. This includes, but is not limited to, demurrage and storage," said a Hapag-Lloyd statement.

Hapag-Lloyd said customers could withdraw containers from Marseilles-Fos and Le Havre terminals, but at their own risk and cost and would result in a EUR180 (US$241) double-handling charge per container.

London's Containerisation International reported that the CGT union has promised; Continuance of possible strike action without warning, continuance of a ban on overtime and exceptional shifts, continuance of a one hour strike by each worker per day or shift, continuance of work to rule, a 24-hour strike by all dock workers from 0600 hrs on Friday January 21, a 24-hour strike by state-employed port workers from 0600 hrs on Saturday January 22, a 24-hour strike by all dock workers from 0600 hours on Sunday January 23 and a 24-hour strike by all public sector port workers from 0600 hrs on Monday January 24.

Source : HKSG, 20.01.11