News

The Sindifisco, the trade union for the audit inspectors at the Receita Federal (Federal Revenue, or customs department) has decided to continue with a weeklong strike at all major Brazilian ports, starting Monday. The national branch of Sindifisco’s decision to vote Friday night to continue with a plan to strike...

Spanish trade unions called eight days of strikes for late May in protest of the government’s proposed stevedore labour reforms, while sources in Spain claim worker productivity has already intentionally decreased. Unions proclaimed that they would hold strikes from May 24 until June 9, during odd hours on each Monday,...

In a sharp reversal for US offshore service companies, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) withdrew its proposed changes to Jones Act rules that could have shut the door to foreign-flag operators in the Gulf of Mexico. CBP has decided to withdraw a proposal that would have reinterpreted 30 years...

The Karachi Port’s terminals are teeming with containers as a goods transporters’ strike has led to non-availability of heavy vehicles to move imports and exports. The port is almost at its full capacity, with import shipments obstructing the movement of export containers. Outbound ships are thus leaving without export loads....

President Donald Trump won’t immediately terminate U.S. participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the White House said, after he spoke with the leaders of Mexico and Canada about ways to renegotiate the accord. “Both conversations were pleasant and productive. President Trump agreed not to terminate Nafta at this...

Container port congestion in China is spreading up and down the coast, as new liner-alliance schedules, added to poor weather, cause disruption to container shipping operations. As reported yesterday, Shanghai’s Yangshan terminals are experiencing lengthy delays and vessel queues. The most congested facilities at Shanghai are now suffering from berthing...

The world’s busiest container port, Yangshan in China’s business hub of Shanghai, is battling severe congestion wrought by dense fog, higher-than-usual volumes and the aftermath of a shake-up in shipping alliances, ocean carriers and port officials say. More than 100 container vessels are now waiting outside the port. The fog...

A planned indefinite major ports strike in India due to start on April 19 was called off to give time for further talks beginning today, according to local reports. Forwarders had expressed concern that the strike would further tighten already-busy air freight market conditions from the Indian subcontinent, with demand...

India’s labour unions, representing dockworkers employed at major ports, have announced an indefinite nationwide industrial action starting on April 19. The ports that are likely to be affected by the strike are Kolkata, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kandla and Marmugao. The...

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) secretary-general, Kitack Lim, has urged the shipping industry to apply diligently the IMO guidance and best management practices to avert possible piracy attacks, in the wake of the hijack of the Aris 13 off Somalia. “While we have seen a very welcome decline in piracy...