Strikes & Delays

01 September 2010

General strike in Maputo

There is a general strike in Maputo. The airport is blocked and the strike may continue tomorrow. We will keep you informed of any further developments.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk

27 August 2010

Crisis at the Port of Algiers

A slowdown in activity at the Port of Algiers, due to the two-month long conflict between port workers and their employer, DP World, has caused critical traffic congestion in the harbour. Furthermore, DP World employees are threatening strike action, which cancels all hope of services resuming to normal.

A task team has been formed to bring the conflicting parties together to settle the issue.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk

19 August 2010

Port congestion in Cotonou affection Niger imports

We recommend that Lomé port, Togo, is used for all imports to Niamey, Niger, as Cotonou, Benin, is currently experiencing heavy congestion.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

18 August 2010

Shipment backlog due to Chinese Festivities

A heavy backlog of shipments is expected at Chinese ports as China celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival in September and the National Holiday in October.

In order to avoid unnecessary port storage charges in China, the following is recommended:

1. All inbound LCL shipments should arrive no later than 11 September, 2010.
2. All inbound FCL shipments should arrive no later than 12 September, 2010.
3. Inbound air shipments should arrive at Chinese airports no later than 13 September, 2010.

If arrival occurs after these dates, your agent may have insufficient time to process these shipments and demurrage may be incurred.

If you would like your shipment delivered before the National Holiday and are willing to accept port storage charges, it is recommended that:

1. All inbound LCL shipments should arrive no later than 16 September, 2010.
2. All inbound FCL shipments should arrive no later than 17 September, 2010.
3. Inbound air shipments should arrive no later than 18 September, 2010.

If shipments arrive after these dates, they may not be processed in time for delivery before the National Holiday.

Thanks to Bruno Moussey and Keith Ellisof of AGS Four Winds Asia.

11 August 2010

Customs Strike in Ivory Coast

Please note that customs workers in Ivory Coast continue to strike today, thus affecting all imports and exports.

The strike, which began Monday, was expected to end within a few days, but union demands to meet with the General Manager of Customs, Colonel Major Alphonse Mangly, have not yet been met.

Due to customs clearance delays, the delivery of consignments will also be negatively affected.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

10 August 2010

Port situation in Mumbai, India

Due to a collision of two vessels near Bombay Floating Light (channel to enter Mumbai port) on August 7th at around 10:30 hours, the MSC vessel Chitra was grounded and has tilted more than 70 degrees near Colaba and subsequently some containers have fallen into the sea.

Considering the above, all the vessel movements have been cancelled from Saturday midnight onwards at Mumbai Port and Nhava Sheva. According to the Marine Department, the vessel movements are at a standstill and awaiting a solution to the problem at hand.

We expect that there will be delays in forwarding containers from Mumbai and vessels may even miss their allotted inward and outbound slots. It all depends on how quickly normal navigation within the confines of the channel, inbound to Nhava Sheva / Mumbai are restored. Please expect delays in both inbound and outbound shipments from Mumbai / Nhava Sheva.

Thanks to Bryce Burns of Santa Fe Relocation Services and to Anil Jagtiani of Santa Fe Moving Services, New Delhi.

04 August 2010

New Customs System Delays Air Cargo Flights To Lagos     

A large number of airlines are being prevented from off-loading cargo shipments at Lagos (LOS) due to non-compliance with new Nigerian customs regulations. This has resulted in a large cargo backlog affecting shipments destined for Lagos.

The new customs regulations include an electronic airline cargo manifest system, where all carriers landing at Lagos must submit their information to Lagos customs electronically, prior to landing.

This has affected a number of major airlines, including Air France, KLM and Lufthansa. Due to system incompatibility, some airlines are not able to connect to the Nigerian customs software.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

28 July 2010

Customs delays at Port of Santos, Brazil

During this month of July and due to the volume increase of shipments, customs clearance of household goods export and import shipments in the Port of Santos, Brazil is taking longer than usual.
 
Although all shipments of household goods and personal effects are physically checked (except those belonging to foreign Diplomats), there are no scanners and not enough customs officers to deal with the increased volume, resulting in long delays of customs clearance.
 
Thanks to Renato Lima of G-Inter (Granero International).

27 July 2010

Greek Truck & Tanker Truck Drivers Indefinite Strike

The Truckers Union in Greece (truck and tanker truck drivers) have announced an indefinite strike which started at midnight on Sunday (July 25th ) in protest against the “opening” of the closed road transport sector and the creation of road transport companies. Truck owners react to regulations of draft-bill on the opening of their occupation related to the price of their permit.

This will, at least temporarily, prevent shipments from being delivered to or retrieved from the ports/airports. Local moves are also restricted.
No containers can be loaded or discharged or moved to and from the Greek ports during the strike as the strikers are currently blocking access to main conjunctions and roads.

Delays may result in late departures, added storage costs, demurrage fees, congestion charges, surcharges and such additional costs.

In the meantime, cars queued to get their tanks filled up today in view of the strike. But gas station owners advise people to be calm, assuring that they have enough supplies.
Reports say that the Transport Ministry had tough negotiations with the Troika on the cost of truck permits. The Troika demanded zeroing cost of truck permits. It seems though that there would be a three year transitional period for old truck permits which would be taken into account in the capital of companies to be founded.

Update 02 August 2010: We are pleased to inform you that the trucker’s union strike has been terminated.

Thanks to Athena Kyriou, Orphee Beinoglou Int’l Forwarders S.A

26 July 2010

Indonesian, Indian And Malaysian Port Closure During Eid Ul-Fitr

Indonesian, Malaysian and Indian ports will be closed on certain days in September as these countries observe the Muslim religious holiday, Eid ul-Fitr. Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim holy month of fasting, known as Ramadan.

Shipments arriving in Jakarta from 1 – 20 September, 2010, will stay in port and incur demurrage charges.
Port closure in India and Malaysia will occur sometime from 9 – 13 September, 2010.
Kindly consider these dates when arranging shipments to these countries. We recommend that shipments are not scheduled to arrive between those dates.

Thanks to  Bruno Moussey of AGS Four Winds Asia.

19 July 2010

The Port of Montreal in Eastern Canada is closed

Faced with the union’s refusal to acknowledge the urgency of the matter as well as the need to radically amend the collective agreement between the Maritime Employers Association and the Port of Montreal’s longshoremen, and in order to avoid compromising Port activities, the MEA has chosen to exercise its legal right according to the labour code and is ordering a lock-out as of today for some 850 employees covered by the accreditation certificate held by the Longshoremen’s Union, CUPE, Local 375.

The main issue is job and revenue security. Considering existing market conditions, MEA can no longer accept such a large gap between the amount of hours worked and paid for by longshoremen and the amount of hours not worked but fully paid for. MEA’s management team believes that while this is not a desirable outcome, it had no other choice but to order a lock-out, given that pressure tactics have begun to impede Port operations.

Consequently, all activities on terminals operated by MEA members will be interrupted as of 8 a.m. tomorrow Monday, July 19 2010 until further notice.

Update 23 July: The challenges at the Port of Montreal have been settled.

Thanks to Laurie Devlin of Williams Moving and Storage.

16 July 2010

STRIKE ACTION MAY DISRUPT PORT SERVICES IN NIGERIA

Strike action by disgruntled Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) workers could disrupt services in the country on Monday. Today marks the first day of the strike, as workers downed tools in protest against poor working conditions. Port services are not yet affected. However, workers have warned that all services at ports will stop on Monday if their demands are not met. Workers are demanding better working conditions and the payment of outstanding allowances.

Update 23 July 2010: Port services continue to operate normally as Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) workers called off the strike that threatened to disrupt services this week.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

02 July 2010

Clerical workers strike at some L.A., Long Beach port terminals

There is no immediate word on whether the walkout will spread. The twin ports account for 40% of cargo container traffic into the United States.

Clerical workers who handle critical paperwork for the nation's busiest port complex went on strike Thursday against several terminals, but ships were still being loaded and unloaded at the Los Angeles and Long Beach docks, a port spokesman said.

Only about 30 people from the workers' 900-strong union were picketing outside terminals after their contract expired after midnight, said Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

"The port is still operating, fully functioning," he said. "Several of the terminals have no pickets on site at all. A couple of the terminals have three or four."

Source: Associated Press

21 June 2010

Overloaded Rail Connection Between Dakar-Bamako

The accumulation of containers to be transported via rail has resulted in significant delays, overburdening the rail connection between Dakar, in Senegal, and Bamako, in Mali.

Road transportation has been organised by freight companies at very similar rates. If the container does not hold a motor vehicle, road transportation will be preferred to avoid delays in Dakar.

Therefore, we advise you to systematically book your shipments using a Through Bill of Lading (TBL) to the inland terminal in Bamako, and to insist on road transportation between Dakar and Bamako, when requesting the quotation from the sea freight company. It is also possible to convert the rail TBL to one suited for road for all containers already shipped.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

07 June 2010

Port Congestion at Nhava Sheva India

Due to a severe congestion in both the Nhava Sheva terminals viz. NSICT & GTI, the rail pendency has reached around 20 days.  This is causing huge delays in rail movement to the inland locations.

Terminal Authorities are trying to bring the situation under control however until then delays in reaching the ICD are expected. Outbound cargo is also getting affected and containers are being offloaded at different terminals to be shifted later to the right terminal where vessels call for loading.

The shifting of containers is purely a terminal operators' role and no shipping line can control it. Also note, there is no fixed time of moving containers within terminals as this depends on trailer availability.  Steamship line vendors are in regular follow-up with terminals for shifting containers on a daily basis. 

Thanks to Anil Jagtiani of Santa Fe Moving Services, India.

01 June 2010

Delays at Apapa Port in Nigeria

Many carriers are waiting to dock after the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) issued a notice last week that no incoming vessels may berth at APMT Apapa.

Apapa is Nigeria's largest port and contains a number of wharfs. A number of shipping lines have been affected by the delay, the reasons for which are unknown.

Please make alternative arrangements before departure for any in- and out-going shipments through Apapa.

Thanks to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.
Thanks to Oluwabunmi Adesina of IAL Nigeria Limited, Nigeria.

31 May 2010

Strike ends in South Africa

The back-log created from the Transnet strike continues to delay South African freight, rail and port services as union members return to work today. The backlog could take up to two months to clear before services resume back to normal.

Workers from the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) first downed tools nearly three weeks ago over demands for higher wages. Although Utatu members had already returned to work, talks with Satawu remained deadlocked until yesterday when a wage agreement was signed with Transnet.

As a result of the strike, no containers have been transported to or from the port in Durban. The strike, which was marred by violence, is estimated to have cost the economy about R7 billion.

Thanks to Gerry Petersen and Laura Wegener of the FIDI Association in South Africa and to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

21 May 2010

CYCLONE DISRUPTS PORT SERVICES IN CHENNAI

A widespread tropical storm is disrupting port operations in Chennai as wind and heavy rains beat down on coastal regions. As a result, services have come to a standstill and shipments to and from Chennai are interrupted until further notice.

The storm has forced Chennai port authorities to hoist a “Flag 3” warning – declared when ports are threatened by stormy weather. The coastal regions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are expected to experience heavy rain of up to 25cm until Friday and wind speeds could reach 125kmph in certain regions.

Thank you to Bruno Moussey of AGS Four Winds Asia.

12 May 2010

Dockers strike in Callao, Peru

The Stevedore Dockers Union started on indefinite strike in Callao. This strike is impacting on all Port operations, causing delays to customers.

Update 24 May: The strike is now over.

Thank you to Patricia Gil Niehorster of Security International Moving S.A.C., Peru

11 May 2010

STRIKE THREATENS TO DISRUPT SERVICE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Strike action threatens to disrupt South African freight, rail and port services today. The strike is expected to mainly affect port terminals in Durban, where most imports and exports for the country are handled. Reports indicate that up to 18,000 port and railway workers could strike, after negotiations failed between the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and Transnet.

With Pier 1 and Durban Container Terminals (DCT) handling the most import or export containers, it is expected that this area will be the main target. However, all divisions of Transnet may be affected, including all port terminal and port authority operations, freight rail operations, and pipeline and engineering services.

Satawu is leading the strike against Transnet, whose workers are demanding increased wages. The United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) had also planned to strike with Satawu today, but their management has announced they would be taking more time to review Transnet's offer.

Update 17 May 2010: The strike has worsened since it started at the beginning of the week, following the United Transport and Allied Trade Union’s (Utatu) decision to join the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) yesterday. Although negotiations are ongoing, it is anticipated that this current National Industrial Action, will continue for at least another week to 10 days.

Few Transnet employees are arriving at work, which is impacting on shipping services in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Richards Bay. Most container terminals remain closed with no vessels or shoreside operations taking place.

The strike has been marred by violence. Thirteen arrests have been made following violent behavior and intimidation towards non-striking workers.  Utatu and Satawu represent 85 percent of Transnet's 54,000 employees. Union members are demanding increased wages and the negotiations continue today.

Update 25 May 2010: Unfortunately the Nationwide strike action by the South African Port and allied workers Trade Unions continues. As you can imagine, when a resolution is achieved, recovery to normal operating conditions will take time, and delays after the strike action is halted, will be inevitable.

Thanks to Gerry Petersen and Laura Wegener of the FIDI Association in South Africa and to Mathieu Dunod of the AGS Frasers Africa Desk.

25 April 2010

Chinese imports and exports delays

Air import clearance delays in China due to World Expo

The clearance of air imports to China is currently taking about ten working days, due to tightening customs restrictions as part of the World Expo, hosted in Shanghai, 1 May – 31 October 2010.

ALL air shipments are now being checked by customs, rather than by usual random inspection, which has resulted in the delays.

Customs checks have also become more stringent. Restricted items need to be fully declared (quantity of books-in/out of China, CDs, DVDs, food etc.), or customs may require an explanation letter, which will further delay clearance.

As importers currently only have three days’ free storage once air shipments arrive, extra airport storage charges may need to be paid by the client.

02 April 2010

SHIPMENT DELAYS TO AND FROM CHINA EXPECTED DURING WORLD EXPO 2010

We would like to inform you that delays are to be expected from April to November this year when importing and exporting goods to and from China, as customs officials tighten up regulations for the World Expo, hosted in Shanghai, 1 May – 31 October 2010.

Chinese customs officials will inspect all inbound and outbound air and sea shipments very strictly. There will be zero tolerance for prohibited items in shipments and heavy fines and penalties will apply (up to and including revocation of customs licenses). It is not advised to include any of the many restricted items, such as CD’s/DVD’s, books, or food.

Whichever port of entry is being used, we highly recommend that you request updated customs information prior to packing and/or sending shipments.

Thanks to Keith Ellis from AGS Four Winds China