Strike at German Ports from July 14-16

Dockers walked out of German ports on July 14, 2022 at 6 am starting a 48-hour strike that will paralyze import and export trade. 

Collective labor agreement negotiations between trade union ver.di, representing 12,000 port workers, and the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) failed to reach a successful conclusion. 

The strike will further aggravate port congestion at Hamburg’s container terminals, and ships idled in the German bight are stacking up with berthing delays, even before the stoppage, extending to up to 14 days. 

Depending on the stowage of their ships, ocean carriers are amending the rotations of their fleets in order to defer calls at Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven. Where they can, carriers may overland some German cargo at Gdansk, Zeebrugge or Felixstowe (where congestion has eased significantly) for a later relay operation. 

Nevertheless, increased berthing delays and slow-ship working on severely congested quays will result in carriers announcing a high number of blanked sailings from Asia in August and September with shippers suffering serious delays to their supply chains. 

Learn more about the strike here: https://theloadstar.com/german-dockers-begin-two-day-strike-adding-to-congestion-woes/.  
 

For additional information and assistance, please contact your local Delmar Representative.