Marseille, Rotterdam port strikes continue
A strike by port workers at Marseille, France's biggest oil-import facility on the Mediterranean Sea, continued for a 13th day yesterday, while at the Rotterdam port, tugboat operators resumed their industrial action after a four-day hiatus.
The strike was initiated over the future of the workforce at a natural-gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France.
Forty tankers, including 20 oil carriers, 16 chemical ships, and five gas transporters, were waiting to load and discharge cargoes at Marseille's Fos and Lavera terminals, the port authority said.
Shipping rates rose as the resulting bottleneck reduced vessel supply in the region.
The cost of transporting 80,000 tonnes of crude oil has risen every day since the strike started on March 14, and by a total of 142 per cent, according to prices from the London-based Baltic Exchange.
The cost of larger shipments also gained.
The strike was initiated by the Confederation Generale du Travail union over the future of the workforce at a natural-gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France SA.
Operations are scheduled to begin at the gas terminal by the end of this year.
Gaz de France, owner of Europe's biggest natural-gas network, hired its own employees to operate the terminal for safety reasons and won't be using port workers, according to a Bloomberg report.
Meanwhile, tugboat workers employed by Smit Harbour Towage at Rotterdam resumed industrial action over the weekend after suspending their strike earlier last week.
This followed a court order stipulating they could only strike for five days before resuming at least 75 per cent operations for four days.
The workers are calling for an increased pay deal, an annual bonus and better pensions. A lawsuit had been brought by Rotterdam's oil refineries, which stated that they would have had to shut down three refineries due to interrupted supplies of crude oil.
Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, with an average of 85 ships entering and 85 leaving every 24 hours.
The larger vessels that use the port - nearly 40 per cent - require tugboat assistance, according to the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Three tugboat companies operate at the port, with Smit servicing nearly 70 per cent of the market followed by Kotug, 25 per cent, and Fairplay, 5 per cent.
In the first week of the strike in early March, 35 vessels were stranded in Rotterdam, with others being forced to divert to other ports in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK.
The strike was initiated over the future of the workforce at a natural-gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France.
Forty tankers, including 20 oil carriers, 16 chemical ships, and five gas transporters, were waiting to load and discharge cargoes at Marseille's Fos and Lavera terminals, the port authority said.
Shipping rates rose as the resulting bottleneck reduced vessel supply in the region.
The cost of transporting 80,000 tonnes of crude oil has risen every day since the strike started on March 14, and by a total of 142 per cent, according to prices from the London-based Baltic Exchange.
The cost of larger shipments also gained.
The strike was initiated by the Confederation Generale du Travail union over the future of the workforce at a natural-gas terminal under construction at Fos by Gaz de France SA.
Operations are scheduled to begin at the gas terminal by the end of this year.
Gaz de France, owner of Europe's biggest natural-gas network, hired its own employees to operate the terminal for safety reasons and won't be using port workers, according to a Bloomberg report.
Meanwhile, tugboat workers employed by Smit Harbour Towage at Rotterdam resumed industrial action over the weekend after suspending their strike earlier last week.
This followed a court order stipulating they could only strike for five days before resuming at least 75 per cent operations for four days.
The workers are calling for an increased pay deal, an annual bonus and better pensions. A lawsuit had been brought by Rotterdam's oil refineries, which stated that they would have had to shut down three refineries due to interrupted supplies of crude oil.
Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, with an average of 85 ships entering and 85 leaving every 24 hours.
The larger vessels that use the port - nearly 40 per cent - require tugboat assistance, according to the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Three tugboat companies operate at the port, with Smit servicing nearly 70 per cent of the market followed by Kotug, 25 per cent, and Fairplay, 5 per cent.
In the first week of the strike in early March, 35 vessels were stranded in Rotterdam, with others being forced to divert to other ports in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK.
