Due to a strike by lashing workers, ship loading and unloading operations at the Port of Rotterdam may face significant delays.
On October 8th, global shipping giant Maersk stated in its latest customer advisory that lashing companies at the Port of Rotterdam plan to officially go on strike starting from 15:15 that afternoon, expected to last until the same time on October 10th. Although terminal infrastructure (including tugboat and pilotage services) remains operational, with the suspension of lashing operations, ship loading, unloading, and departures are severely impacted.
Maersk pointed out that the strike has affected almost all major terminals in Rotterdam, including APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, Hutchinson Ports Delta II, ECT Delta, and Rotterdam World Gateway.
This action targets two lashing companies providing outsourced services to the terminals—International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Services—stemming from an ongoing dispute with the FNV trade union over wages and working conditions. The union is demanding a 7% wage increase and the introduction of an automatic inflation compensation mechanism; whereas the companies have only offered a 4% pay raise, which FNV criticized as “completely unacceptable.”
As early as September, the union had urged terminal operators to participate in negotiations and attend a roundtable meeting. FNV noted that although the operators outsource the lashing work, they still determine the rate per container handled. However, the terminal side insists that this is an internal labor issue between the lashing companies and the union.
FNV plans to hold a general meeting at noon on October 12th to assess the situation’s progress and discuss next steps. As some terminals at the Port of Rotterdam come to a standstill, Europe’s most important shipping hub is facing a capacity bottleneck, and the ripple effects on the global supply chain are drawing industry attention.
Meanwhile, the strike by Belgian pilots continues to escalate, further disrupting shipping operations at the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge. Union data shows that as of Wednesday morning, a total of 62 ships were waiting for pilots, with 46 stranded in the North Sea and another 16 docked at the Port of Antwerp. The Port of Antwerp Authority reported that currently 54 ships have no clear berthing schedule, with another 34 ships experiencing significant delays.
Maersk stated that it has activated contingency plans with operational partners to minimize the impact on customers’ supply chains. However, with both major Northern European gateway ports, Rotterdam and Antwerp, simultaneously disrupted, delays on European routes and port congestion are expected to worsen, potentially triggering broader systemic ripple effects.
Industry insiders point out that this strike event once again highlights the vulnerability of the global supply chain. As Europe’s core logistics and transshipment hub, any operational disruption at the Port of Rotterdam can, in a short time, affect the entire European continent and even the global trade and transport network.
