A 24-hour strike at the French port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire blocked 11 ships yesterday while action at the oil port of Fos-Lavera was expected to disrupt traffic from around 1800 GMT for several hours. The strikes in both ports come after France's national port union called on workers last week to stage 24-hour strikes on a weekly basis to protest against government plans to privatise loading activities at state-run ports. It is up to individual ports to decide on which day to take action.
At Nantes Saint-Nazaire, nine ships were blocked at the quay while two ships were blocked from entering the port, the port spokesman said. The ships included one oil tanker, one chemical cargo as well as ships transporting grain and agricultural food products, he said. One large ship, expected to berth at Nantes Saint-Nazaire to load 25,000 tonnes of wheat was blocked from entering the port, port sources told Reuters.
Operations at France's largest oil port of Fos-Lavera should be reduced for seven to eight hours from 1800 GMT yesterday, a union official said. Workers at Fos-Lavera voted earlier this week to strike for three nights per week and to refuse overtime. The strategic Fos-Lavera oil port supplies crude to eight refineries in south-east France with a total production capacity of around 800,000 barrels per day.
Crude supplies from the terminal also go to the 310,000 bpd Miro refinery in Germany and the 68,000 bpd Cressier refinery in Switzerland. France's shipping industry has put pressure on the government to streamline ports but the state has been hamstrung by high union membership and frequent strikes.
Talks between the union and the government over port reforms, unveiled in January, ended in acrimony last week, with the union accusing the government of turning its back on a strategic sector. Workers at the seven ports downed tools in March, causing severe disruption to the unloading and docking of some ships carrying crude oil, gas and chemicals.
At Nantes Saint-Nazaire, nine ships were blocked at the quay while two ships were blocked from entering the port, the port spokesman said. The ships included one oil tanker, one chemical cargo as well as ships transporting grain and agricultural food products, he said. One large ship, expected to berth at Nantes Saint-Nazaire to load 25,000 tonnes of wheat was blocked from entering the port, port sources told Reuters.
Operations at France's largest oil port of Fos-Lavera should be reduced for seven to eight hours from 1800 GMT yesterday, a union official said. Workers at Fos-Lavera voted earlier this week to strike for three nights per week and to refuse overtime. The strategic Fos-Lavera oil port supplies crude to eight refineries in south-east France with a total production capacity of around 800,000 barrels per day.
Crude supplies from the terminal also go to the 310,000 bpd Miro refinery in Germany and the 68,000 bpd Cressier refinery in Switzerland. France's shipping industry has put pressure on the government to streamline ports but the state has been hamstrung by high union membership and frequent strikes.
Talks between the union and the government over port reforms, unveiled in January, ended in acrimony last week, with the union accusing the government of turning its back on a strategic sector. Workers at the seven ports downed tools in March, causing severe disruption to the unloading and docking of some ships carrying crude oil, gas and chemicals.