Disruption Cripples North Baltic Canal: Severe Implications Ensue
The Kiel Canal Goes on Strike for Three Days
For three days beginning Monday evening, the Kiel Canal is off-limits to ships. This move is a tactic used by the trade union Verdi to push for wage negotiations in the public sector. In Brunsbüttel and Holtenau, no ships have been allowed to enter the canal.
This work stoppage means significant financial losses for pilots, canal pilots, and shipbrokers. A 2021 study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) found that every day the Kiel Canal is closed results in a "loss of prosperity" of over 1.5 million euros in Germany.
"The strike is hitting us hard," says Klaus Peter Molter, chairman of the Association of Canal Pilots. With 125 members responsible for guiding large ships through the canal, they, along with around 300 canal pilots and employees of ship suppliers and shipbrokers, are left waiting until the end of the strike. More than 3,000 jobs depend on the canal's operation.
"The customers are not very enthusiastic," says Jan Klein, managing director of the brokerage firm UCA United Canal Agency. The closure of the canal affects around 70 to 80 ships per day, which must now navigate around Skagen instead. This alternative route adds to their travel time and emissions.
Shipping companies are feeling the pinch too. For example, Maersk Line's container ship "Laura Maersk," which passed through the canal on Monday afternoon, had to cancel its return journey to Bremerhaven, opting instead to travel from Gothenburg via Skagen.
The strike's success is due in part to the reduction in civil servants and an increase in employees in system-relevant areas of the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. Trade unionist Frank Schischefsky calls for Verdi members at brokers and canal pilots to join the strike in solidarity. However, Molter claims their strike pay won't come close to making up for the losses they would have earned during normal operations.
Jens-Broder Knudsen of the Kiel Canal initiative criticizes the strike's impact on the canal's image, especially at a difficult time. On Tuesday night, the navy was among the last ships to pass through the canal before it went silent, with only dredging ships continuing to operate at its eastern end.
It's worth noting that, while there have been no recent reports of a strike by Verdi affecting the Kiel Canal, strikes by the union in other sectors could lead to similar disruptions in the future. In such cases, the transportation industry, employment levels, and the economy as a whole may be significantly impacted.
- The strike action by Verdi, a trade union, has escalated to the Kiel Canal, causing a three-day work halt that is disrupting the science of navigation and transportation.
- With the focus on workplace-wellness and health-and-wellness, Verdi is pressing for wage negotiations in the public sector, affecting pilots and employees in the industry.
- The financial losses from this wage dispute are significant, with the Kiel Institute for the World Economy estimating a daily loss of prosperity in Germany over 1.5 million euros when the canal is closed.
- In the world of general-news and policy-and-legislation, the outcome of these negotiations could have implications for other sectors and the broader economy, given the thousands of jobs dependent on the canal's operation.
- Meanwhile, in the realm of finance, shipping companies are affected, with vessels such as Maersk Line's container ship, "Laura Maersk," being forced to reroute via Skagen, leading to longer travel times and increased emissions.
