Port of Antwerp grinds to a halt amid nationwide strikes

30 Jan 2012 - Ports

• 24-hour strike sees closure of terminal operations

• Strikes could cost port as much as €1 million an hour in lost revenues

Terminals at the Port of Antwerp have been forced to cease operations today as Belgian dockworkers participate in a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest of the government’s austerity program.

The strike could cost Belgium’s deepwater seaport as much as €1 million an hour in lost revenues, Annik Dirkx, a spokeswoman for the port told Bloomberg.

Dockworkers stopped work at 6 am this morning, which has already begun to disrupt vessel traffic, Dirkx added.

The strikes have also forced the closure of Brussels Airport and halted the country’s rail freight traffic.

On Friday, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), a maritime service provider, warned shipowners and operators not to attempt to deliver cargo to Belgian ports in light of the impending strikes.

“We advise shipowners and operators not to attempt to deliver any cargo to Belgian ports on Monday, and we are warning that further disruption to schedules may continue into the week,” General Manager at ISS Port Services, Patrick Van Huffelen, told the IFW.

Today’s strikes, likely to have knock-on effects all week, will see dockers, pilots, tugboat and lock operators attempt to blockade the access roads leading to ports across Belgium, said ISS.

Workers from the country’s public and private sectors are striking in protest at the governments proposals to introduce an austerity budget to help bring Belgium’s deficit within the EU limit of 3 percent in the coming year.

Belgians are concerned that the plans will prevent them from retiring early due to increasing cutbacks on unemployment benefits.

Last month, more than 50,000 people gathered in Brussels in protest of the planned cuts.

The strikes come as EU leaders gather in the Belgian capital to continue talks on the eurozone crisis, the first such summit of 2012.

Antwerp Port handled around 186.4 million tonnes of freight for the year, an increase of 4.6 percent when compared with 2010 when the port handled 178.2 million tonnes.