🚨 Rotterdam & Antwerp Strikes: What’s Happening — and What It Means for Global Shipping?
⚠️Strikes hit Europe’s busiest ports — will global trade feel the shock?
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🔥 Greetings, Maritime Mavericks!
Europe’s two busiest container ports — Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges — have slowed down after strikes by port workers and pilots.
Hundreds of ships are waiting. Cargo is piling up.
And the ripple effect has already reached across Europe’s supply chains.
⚓ What’s Happening?
🌍 Why It Matters?
💡 What It Means for Global Shipping?
🧭 What to Do Now?
❓ Quick Q&A
🏅 Maritime Analytica Insight
Ready? Let’s reveal them all…
⚓ What’s Happening?
Rotterdam — Lashers on Strike
Started on October 8.
Workers from International Lashing Service and Matrans Marine Service walked out.
They want about a 6.5% pay increase and better working terms.
A court ordered them to work on weekdays, but weekend strikes may continue.
More than 25 ships waited offshore during the peak.
Antwerp-Bruges — Pilots Protest Pension Reform
Began on October 5.
Pilots worked only from 08:00 to 17:00 each day — a “work-to-rule” action.
This caused big queues at both Antwerp and Zeebrugge, where pilotage is mandatory.
At one point, around 150 ships were stuck waiting.
On October 15, pilots paused their protest until October 24 to give talks another chance.
Port officials say operations are improving, but it may take several days to clear the backlog.
Belgium’s National Strike Adds Pressure
On October 14, a nationwide protest shut down transport and customs.
About 80,000 people joined demonstrations in Brussels.
This made port and inland congestion even worse.