The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) at the Port of Montreal in Canada has said that a dockers strike will commence today, 27 July, at 7am local time and continue until 7am on 31 July.
Container News understands the strike action will only affect container shipping, excluding the Oceanex Service, at the port, preventing cargo handling for all container types, inbound and outbound.
In a statement the MEA said there mooring services ordinarily provided by longshoremen will be suspeneded, but that liquid bulk handling, the Oceanex service (Bickerdike Terminal) and the grain terminal (Viterra) will not be affected.
“These pressure tactics, carried out by the Syndicat des Débardeurs C.U.P.E. Local 375, will last for four days. As a result, the Port of Montreal and its partners expect to return to normal starting Friday, July 31 at 7:00 a.m. The necessary efforts will be made to make up for the delays caused by this exceptional situation,” said a Port of Montreal statement.
Hapag-Lloyd has provided the following information on services on 27 July:
The Barcelona Express 42E30, currently alongside, will load as much cargo as possible and depart before the strike starts.
The Liverpool Express 08W28 and Ottawa Express 13W29 will arrive as planned, once the strike action ends next Friday.
The OOCL Montreal 29W29 will delay its arrival from Tuesday to Friday. We can therefore expect some delays and congestion at the port whilst the back log of vessels and cargo is cleared.
“All efforts will be made to make up for any delays that will be caused by this exceptional situation. In the meantime, we will keep you informed of any developments as they occur,” said the German carrier.
Container News will provide updates on the Port of Montreal strike will be given as the week progresses.
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor
