Norwegian Pilots' Strike Halts Cruise Traffic in Oslo
Cruise lines scrambled this past weekend to deal with a strike by 42 port pilots in Oslo, Norway. The labor action by state employees caused multiple cruise ships to bypass Oslo. Lines adapted itineraries, sailed to alternative ports and some operated motorcoach excursions to Oslo.
More ominously, though, the strike appears to be broadening – bad news at the outset of the peak Norwegian coastal sailing season.
Cruise Industry News (www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/7332-norway-all-pilot-services-may-be-suspended.html) reports that the pilots’ strike action could spread by May 30 to other areas of Norway.
In an update today, the Norwegian Coastal Administration site (www.kystverket.no/en) indicated that’s happening. It said the labor action soon will broaden to 103 pilot boat skippers, “affecting a big part of the country’s maritime services.”
The listing of affected ports - if that broader strike occurs - includes Tromso, Alesund and Kirkenes, just to name a few.
Most cruise ships are required to use local pilots on approach to ports. The pilots know local sea conditions and are aware of any navigation obstacles. Experienced pilots essentially “drive” ships into port, helping to assure a safe passage.
With the pilots out of action on Sunday, Holland America Line’s (www.hollandamerica.com) Rotterdam bypassed Oslo and docked at Sandefjord, 70 miles from the Norwegian capital. Holland America said in a statement that it operated all its Oslo excursions with motorcoaches transporting guests to the Norwegian capital city.
Other ships that have altered itineraries over the past few days to avoid Oslo include Emerald Princess and Star Clippers’ Star Flyer. Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas also avoided Oslo and instead called at Gothenburg, Sweden.
However, Hurtigruten (www.hurtigruten.com), a small ship operator that sails the Norwegian fjords throughout the year, is apparently unaffected by the pilot labor action. Pilots aren’t required on its Norwegian voyages because the line’s captains are highly familiar with the local coastal waters.
But for the other cruise operators, a widening of the strike zone could mean additional shifts in itineraries. Ships set to call at Oslo early this week include Costa Fortuna, MSC Poesia and both Emerald Princess and Vision of the Seas yet again.
Cruise lines scrambled this past weekend to deal with a strike by 42 port pilots in Oslo, Norway. The labor action by state employees caused multiple cruise ships to bypass Oslo. Lines adapted itineraries, sailed to alternative ports and some operated motorcoach excursions to Oslo.
More ominously, though, the strike appears to be broadening – bad news at the outset of the peak Norwegian coastal sailing season.
Cruise Industry News (www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/7332-norway-all-pilot-services-may-be-suspended.html) reports that the pilots’ strike action could spread by May 30 to other areas of Norway.
In an update today, the Norwegian Coastal Administration site (www.kystverket.no/en) indicated that’s happening. It said the labor action soon will broaden to 103 pilot boat skippers, “affecting a big part of the country’s maritime services.”
The listing of affected ports - if that broader strike occurs - includes Tromso, Alesund and Kirkenes, just to name a few.
Most cruise ships are required to use local pilots on approach to ports. The pilots know local sea conditions and are aware of any navigation obstacles. Experienced pilots essentially “drive” ships into port, helping to assure a safe passage.
With the pilots out of action on Sunday, Holland America Line’s (www.hollandamerica.com) Rotterdam bypassed Oslo and docked at Sandefjord, 70 miles from the Norwegian capital. Holland America said in a statement that it operated all its Oslo excursions with motorcoaches transporting guests to the Norwegian capital city.
Other ships that have altered itineraries over the past few days to avoid Oslo include Emerald Princess and Star Clippers’ Star Flyer. Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas also avoided Oslo and instead called at Gothenburg, Sweden.
However, Hurtigruten (www.hurtigruten.com), a small ship operator that sails the Norwegian fjords throughout the year, is apparently unaffected by the pilot labor action. Pilots aren’t required on its Norwegian voyages because the line’s captains are highly familiar with the local coastal waters.
But for the other cruise operators, a widening of the strike zone could mean additional shifts in itineraries. Ships set to call at Oslo early this week include Costa Fortuna, MSC Poesia and both Emerald Princess and Vision of the Seas yet again.
Previously unaffected oil refineries and gas processing plants will be hit when all pilot boats in the country are taken out of service. The disruption in deliveries may eventually spill over to both oil production and exports, said Morten Eek, a spokesman for Statoil ASA (STL), Norway’s largest oil company.
“If it’s prolonged, it could have financial consequences for the companies involved and the government,” Eek said by telephone. While it wasn’t possible to estimate the timing or scope of possible disruptions to exports or production, Eek said that storage capacity is limited and “if you don’t get anything out, that would pose challenges.”
A strike of 103 of Norway’s 116 pilot boat crew members will affect mainly Statoil’s Mongstad oil refinery and terminal and the Kaarstoe gas processing plant, Eek said. Mongstad has an average capacity of 27,400 tons of oil a day, and the Kaarstoe plant has a capacity of 88 million cubic meters of gas a day, according to Statoil’s website.
Sea Shipments
Eek said the strike would cancel about 30 boats at the facilities during the week starting tomorrow. He didn’t provide details of the volumes involved. While pipeline deliveries are unaffected, Mongstad receives some oil by sea and also ships out refined products. Kaarstoe ships out condensate, liquefied petroleum gases and ethane.
Ships longer than 70 meters or carrying dangerous materials are required to have a pilot on board when navigating in and out of Norwegian harbors, said YS union representative Narve Leonhardsen in a phone interview.
A pilot strike in the Oslo area since May 24 has already caused a halt in all transport of refined products to the Sjursjoeya terminal, which supplies 40 percent of Norway’s gasoline stations, Statoil spokesman Paal Heldaas said.
Gas stations in Oslo, Norway’s biggest city, were in a “precarious” situation and would start running out of gas by the end of the week if the strike continues, he said.
Unions Fagforbundet, LO, YS and Unio representing workers in both the state and municipalities went on strike May 24 because the government proposed a pay increase of less than 4 percent. Fagforbundet is the first union to step up the strike today with 14,700 new workers, up from 9,500 the week before.
There were 793,000 public employees in 2011, or 30 percent of the workforce, according to the bureau of statistics.
Pilotage service
Some ships have permission to go without pilots holding a valid Pilot Exemption Certificate, but most ships as container-, tank- and cruiseships are subject of compulsory pilotage.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration is responsible for the state pilotage service.
The ferries in regular traffic between Norway, Denmark and Germany have permission to sail without pilots.