Long-running strike at Maersk's APMT Gothenburg hits port revenues hard

OPERATIONS at APM Terminals Gothenburg were severely impacted by industrial dispute for 153 days last year. Effectively, the Swedish Dockworkers' Union cost the Scandinavian hub 30 per cent of its annual container volume.

Managing director of APM Terminals Gothenburg Henrik Kristensen said the port lost 180,000 TEU in 2017 due to the labour disruptions plaguing the terminal in a year when other ports in North Europe were booming, IHS Media reported.

The strikes are placing the port's competitiveness in jeopardy since it has invested heavily in infrastructure to develop its gateway-to-Scandinavia status, with rail operations that are able to connect to 300 destinations from Gothenburg.

'There is a threat that not all the 30 per cent of volume we lost will come back,' said Mr Kristensen.

Gothenburg can handle 20,000-TEU plus vessels, but Mr Kristensen said if the dispute continues, it would be difficult to attract mega ships.

The ongoing industrial action has forced shippers in and out of Scandinavia to transfer their cargo shipments to other North Europe ports and use feeder ships or trucks to serve the northern markets, adding to their costs.

'There is a big dredging project planned to secure the future of the port, but all this is in jeopardy because if the customers don't know if they can trust a logistics chain through Gothenburg, they will not use us.'

Mr Kristensen said APM Terminals has twice accepted proposals to reach a labour agreement presented by the Swedish Mediation Institute, but on both occasions the Swedish Dockworkers' Union declined to accept the proposals.

This has left the port in a difficult position. Gothenburg is bound to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the incumbent labour body, the Swedish Transport Workers' Union. However, the Swedish Dockworkers' Union also wants to negotiate a labour agreement with Gothenburg.

The Swedish Dockworkers' Union is affiliated to the Barcelona-based International Dockworkers' Council (IDC), and the IDC's general coordinator Jordi Aragunde Miguens said the conflict situation at the port of Gothenburg was becoming more complicated.

'From our side, we are trying to find solutions to help to finish this situation,' he told IHS Media. 'We've talked with some of the biggest shipping lines, customers, and stakeholders in general, with the main objective to propose new alternatives to reach an agreement. All the parts need an agreement.'