Trendwatch: Montreal dockworkers’ union rejects offer; lockout begins; French rail workers plan strike 'double-whammy' over Fret SNCF break-up; Cargo cheers as Canada lifts restrictions on China flights

Montreal dockworkers’ union rejects offer; lockout begins

The Montreal Longshoremen's Union rejected a final offer made for a new labour contract, leading to a lockout being declared, the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and the union said on Sunday.

The MEA said in a statement the lockout, which will impact nearly 1,200 port workers at the Canadian port that handled 8.7 million metric tons in the third quarter of 2024, has been declared as of 9 p.m. eastern (02:00 GMT).

The lockout will further slow Canadian imports and exports at a time the Port of Montreal was already operating at partial capacity and as West Coast ports are stopped due to a separate dispute.

French rail workers plan strike 'double-whammy' over Fret SNCF break-up

French rail workers have lined up a double-whammy of strikes in the Christmas build-up, with a 37-hour walkout for a fortnight this month and an indefinite follow-up next month.

The action is something of a last-ditch effort to halt the looming break-up of nationalised freight operator Fret SNCF into two firms, Hexafret and Technis, in January.

Cargo cheers as Canada lifts restrictions on China flights

The North American wall against further encroachment by Chinese airlines is becoming porous: the Canadian government has decided to withdraw flight restrictions on China.

In response to the pandemic, in 2021 the authorities limited the number of flights operated by Chinese carriers to Canada to two scheduled round-trip passenger flights a week, raised the following year to six. These orders also prohibited non-stop flights.

76% of European Shippers Face Supply Disruptions, Maersk Finds

According to a recent survey of over 2,000 Maersk customers across Europe, three out of four European shippers experienced supply chain disruptions over the past year, with more than half facing significant financial impacts. The findings highlight that 76% of businesses reported disruptions affecting their operations, and 22% faced more than 20 disruptive incidents within the last 12 months.

Cape of Good Hope box ship diversion 'benefits shipping companies'

The Red Sea crisis has seen liner operators operating at least 13 ships on each Asia-Europe string, and this is unlikely to change, even if Suez Canal transits resume, according to Alphaliner analyst Jan Tiedemann.

He told the Korea Ocean Business Corporation’s recent maritime conference that this deployment had held off more vessel supply and suggested that liner operators should continue sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, if possible.

New cranes boost Santos terminal capacity

The new cranes will expand BTP’s quay equipment capacity by 25%, improving its ability to handle larger vessels with greater safety and efficiency at South America’s largest port in Brazil.

This addition is part of a $330 million investment plan for the coming years to advance the terminal’s decarbonisation efforts.

Most Reliable Ocean Carriers in 2024

Since 2019, no single carrier among the top 13 global shipping companies has consistently ranked as the most reliable provider across more than 30% of the trade lanes they serve in any given month, according to Sea-Intelligence analysis.

In its GLP report, the Danish maritime data analysis company assessed schedule reliability across 34 global trade lanes and developed a composite score to quantify reliability for the first nine months of the year.

Gigantic emissions control area proposed

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) looks set to debate the creation of a giant new emissions control area (ECA) when the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets next year. 

A new study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) today claims that up to 4,300 premature deaths can be avoided by the creation of an ECA in the North Atlantic, dubbed AtlECA. 

The ICCT has teamed up with a number of NGOs to submit the North Atlantic ECA proposal to the IMO.