Lashers in Europe’s largest sea port, Rotterdam, began a 48-hour strike on Wednesday afternoon to demand higher wages, while Flemish harbour pilots protesting pension reforms at the neighbouring Belgian port also disrupted marine traffic.
Labour union FNV said all employees of International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Services — the two lashing companies active in the Dutch port — stopped work at 15:15 (13:15 GMT) and would continue their strike until the same time on Friday.
As lashers are responsible for securing a ship’s cargo, the strike will prevent any container ship at the port from being loaded or unloaded for two days, FNV said.
“Without lashers, the whole port grinds to a halt,” FNV spokesman Niek Stam said.
The Rotterdam Port Authority said the strike was certain to affect operations but added that it was too early to estimate the overall impact.
International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Services could not immediately be reached for comment.
In Belgium, marine traffic at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been severely disrupted by four days of industrial action by Flemish harbour pilots protesting against federal pension reforms, port authorities told Reuters.
The Antwerp harbour, which typically handles between 60 and 80 ships daily, processed only 31 vessels on Tuesday, the port said, with some ships delayed or stranded and others diverted to alternative destinations.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
