Lashers in Europe's largest sea port Rotterdam went on a 48-hour strike on Wednesday afternoon to demand higher wages, while Flemish harbour pilots protesting about pension reforms in the main neighbouring Belgian port also disrupted marine traffic there.
Labour union FNV said all employees of International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Services, the two lashing companies active in the Dutch port, had stopped work at 3:15 p.m. (1315 GMT) and would continue their strike until the same time on Friday.
As lashers secure a ship's cargo, the strike will mean that no container ship at the port can be loaded or unloaded for two days, the FNV said.
"Without lashers the whole port grinds to a halt," FNV spokesman Niek Stam said.
The Rotterdam port authority said the strike was certain to hurt traffic, but added that it was too early to estimate the impact.
International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Service could not immediately be reached for comment.
In Belgium, marine traffic at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been severely disrupted by four days of industrial action by Flemish harbour pilots protesting against federal pension reforms, port authorities told Reuters.
Antwerp harbour, which typically handles 60 to 80 ships daily, processed only 31 vessels on Tuesday, the port said, with some ships delayed or stranded and others heading to other destinations.
(Reuters)