Last week in the Herald I outlined how ongoing labour strife could be an issue for the Port of Montreal, leading to a loss of Cargo in the longer term..
JOC posted an article suggesting 50% of Montreal’s cargo volume is Discretionary – shippers are not tied to the port, and use it for convenience sake. Summer whale and Winter ice delays, plus geographical challenges already were cause for concern for Montreal, and now labour issues are added.
After this article ran, one of the Longshore Unions at the port of montreal gave 72 hour strike notice for an indefinite strike, to begin Monday. That means effective tommorw, most terminals are shut down, Causing ships to divert.
A 4 day strike 2 weeks ago caused two MSC Vessels to divert to Halifax, Maersk to call out of Order, and Hapag-Lloyd sent a ship to Saint John NB. Canadian Pacific Railways re-acquisition of the line through Maine seems to be paying off, and CP has simply moved its customers to Saint John. Another Hapag-Llloyd ship called this week in Saint John.
MSC Rochelle arrived in the outer anchorage Saturday – its due at PSA Halifax on the 18th. The wait is required to maintain schedule, as a week is saved by calling in Halifax Vs Montreal.
Maersk Palermo arrived Sunday morning. it usually spends around 6 hours in port. this call the ship is due to sail late Monday afternoon.
Montreal Express and OOCL Belgium also look to be diverting to Halifax, Due on the 11th and 15th respectively. I expect more to divert given the nature of the labour actions.
