Spanish box terminals face cargo backlog after general strike
Spain's container terminals are beginning the task of recovering following yesterday's general strike across the country that left box ships waiting at anchor after a slew of terminal closures - but the extent of the cargo backlog remains unclear.
Container movements ground to a halt at Algeciras, loading and discharge was suspended at Valencia, and cargo operations requiring the support of dockers stopped at Barcelona, although essential marine services remained unaffected.
Trade union confederation CCOO's maritime-sector representative in Valencia for vessel operations, Francisco Martínez, told reporters: "There are no workers available, and there are no vessel operations."
And while one forwarder told The Loadstar the strikes had "zero" impact on their operations, AIS tracking data showed the 1,072 teu Contship Zen still at anchor off Valencia last night, with an expectation of berthing this morning.
Similarly, the 20,124 teu Ever Gifted also appears to have remained at anchor off of the port, although it having arrived before the strike, its reason for being there may not be attributable to the labour action, even if it hinders efforts to clear the backlog.
The scale and duration of any backlog will depend on how quickly terminals restore normal productivity, and whether carriers have had to revise their rotations or roll cargo, but requests by The Loadstar to glean this information from terminal operators today have fallen on deaf ears.
Spain's logistics employers' association, UNO, suggested the wider impact on the country's, and the EU's, logistics and transport sector would be "limited and localised", but did note that both Algeciras and Valencia would be exposed to the worst of the disruption.
Operations at both APMT's Algeciras and Total Terminal International Algeciras were halted between 2am on 11 November and 2am on 12 November, bringing container movements to a standstill at one of the major Mediterranean transhipment hubs.
Another vessel seemingly awaiting a berth at Algeciras is the CMA CGM Tiga, AIS data showing it as having made slow approaches to the port after anchoring off it in the early hours of yesterday.
A spokesperson for APMT's Spanish operations, which include Algeciras, told The Loadstar: "Minimum service levels established by the Spanish Ministry and Port Authorities for the 11 November general strike were fully met across APM Terminals' facilities in Spain.
"In Algeciras, there was no participation in the strike by APMT employees or contractors, and the limited operational impact was primarily linked to previously announced weather-related restrictions in Campo de Gibraltar."
To minimise disruption, the spokesperson noted that vessel operations were scheduled around the strike, while some terminals maintained services or extended operating hours to accommodate cargo flows, and added that all terminals were "currently operating normally".
Despite UNO and the forwarder downplaying the strike's impact, Juan Diego Pedrero, president of the Spanish Association of Private Railway Companies, told local media: "I don't have percentages, but it is undoubtedly having an impact."
Mr Pedrero added that "activity across the ports has heavily slowed, and this is affecting rail-port traffic, particularly at the ports of Valencia and Barcelona", as local reports suggested dozens of freight services being cancelled.
