Announced strike action at Ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool

November 07, 2022 - Update 11

Two-week strike action at the UK port of Liverpool has officially ended at 06:00am today, Monday 7 November. As normal operation resumes, we anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels and therefore encourage customers to check our live carrier haulage availability for the latest information.

A.P. Moller – Maersk has also been made aware of potential further strike action at the Port of Liverpool planned to commence at 06:00am on Monday 14 November and end at 06:00am on Monday 21 November. As the situation is subject to change, we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Our teams are working on contingency planning to minimise the impact of the strike actions on your supply chain, should the strike action go ahead as planned. For the sake of planning ahead, please reach out to your local Customer Experience representative to discuss best available options for your cargo moving forward.

Should you have any questions, or need further help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

October 07, 2022 - Update 10

Strike actions at the UK ports of and Felixstowe Liverpool have officially ended on 5 October and 3 October, respectively. Maersk teams have worked hard on planning contingencies to minimise delays to our customers’ supply chains for the duration of and the days following strike actions.

While the strike actions have ended, we are still experiencing high demand for carrier haulage and therefore encourage customers to book early to avoid additional delays. Our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

To keep providing you with the relevant information related to your supply chain, we would like to bring to your attention that the Unite union has planned a new strike action at the Port of Liverpool from 11 October until 17 October on a continuous basis. Maersk teams continue to monitor the situation and work on contingency planning to minimise delays to our customers.

As the situation is still subject to change at short notice, we will keep you informed of any developments and communicate changes to vessel ETAs as soon as possible. In case your cargo is affected by these changes, your Customer Experience representative will reach out to you as your booking is updated. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

October 03, 2022 – Update 09

The UK ports of Liverpool and Felixstowe remain affected by industrial action. The strike action at the port of Liverpool is planned to end at 06:00am on Monday 3 October, while the strike action at Port of Felixstowe will end at 06:59am on Wednesday 5 October.

To provide more visibility to our customers, the table below shows updated vessel ETAs that have been advanced or delayed maximising available labour immediately after the strike action.

Port of Felixstowe updated ETAs

Port of Liverpool updated ETAs

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

Once the strike action is complete and normal service resumes, we anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels and therefore encourage customers to book early to avoid additional delays. Our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

A.P. Moller - Maersk has also been made aware of potential further strike action at the Port of Liverpool planned to commence at 06:00am on Tuesday 11 October and end at 06:00am on Monday 17 October. Our teams are closely monitoring the situation and the impact it might have on operations and our customers’ supply chains, should the strike go ahead. We will keep you updated as the situation evolves and new in-formation becomes available.

While we are doing all in out power to minimise the impact of the strike actions on your supply chain, for the sake of planning ahead, please reach out to your local Customer Experience representative to discuss best available options for your cargo moving forward. Should you have any questions or need further help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

September 24, 2022 – Update 08

As your integrated logistics provider, A. P. Moller – Maersk would like to provide an update regarding the strike action at the port of Felixstowe, which is planned to start at 7am on Tuesday 27 September and end at 6:59am on Wednesday 5 October.

Our teams continue to work hard on planning contingency measures to minimise delays for our customers’ supply chains. To help reduce delays, we are kindly asking you to please collect your import cargo as soon as possible upon discharge.

Next to contingency planning for the duration of the strike, our teams are preparing for the resumption of activities once the strike action is complete. We anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels immediately after the strike and therefore encourage customers to book early. To help with planning, our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

To maximise available labour immediately before and after the strike, a number of vessel ETAs have been advanced or delayed – as per the table below.

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

If your cargo is affected by the above contingencies, your local Customer Experience representative will reach out to you as your booking is updated. If you need further help or have any questions, please reach out to us via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time. To help manage and plan your supply chain, we will keep providing you with the most up-to-date information as soon as it becomes available.

September 16, 2022 – Update 07

A. P. Moller – Maersk would like to inform you about the announced strike action at the Port of Felixstowe. Since our last communication, we understand that the planned strike action at the port of Felixstowe from 7am on Tuesday 27 September and ending at 6:59am on Wednesday 5 October will go ahead.

Our teams are working hard to establish a number of contingency measures to minimise the impact of strike action on our customers, including changes to the vessel line-up. To help reduce delays, we are kindly asking you to please collect your import cargo as soon as possible. For your convenience, our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

To maximise available labour immediately before and after the strike, a number of vessel ETAs have been advanced or delayed – as per the table below.

For the two omitted vessels – L02 Vilnia Maersk 237W and SLC Cosco Vietnam 236N – the planned contingency to get import cargo back into the UK is as follows.

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

If your cargo is affected by the above contingencies, your local Customer Experience representative will reach out to you as your booking is updated. If you need further help or have any questions, please reach out to us via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

Once the strike action is complete and normal service resumes, we anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels and therefore encourage customers to book early. Our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

We understand and appreciate your frustration with the situation at the port and thank you for your trust at this challenging time. Our teams continue to work hard to mitigate any delays to your supply chain and will keep you updated with any new developments.

September 14, 2022 – Update 06

A. P. Moller - Maersk would like to inform you about the announced strike actions at Port of Felixstowe and Port of Liverpool later this month.

The Union Unite has announced two strike actions at the ports, with the action at the Port of Felixstowe commencing at 7am on Tuesday 27 September and ending at 6:59am on Wednesday 5 October, and action at the Port of Liverpool starting at 6am on Monday 19 September and ending at 6am on Monday 3 October. The strike actions are expected to cause operational delays with potential ripple effects on other ports in Europe.

The Port of Felixstowe stated that the collective bargaining process has been exhausted, while the Port of Liverpool is urging Unite to keep the negotiations going. Maersk is closely monitoring the situation in both cases and will continue to keep you updated on any developments.

Our teams are working hard on planning appropriate contingencies to mitigate the impact on our customers, and we expect to share more information in the coming days as we finalise the planning. To help reduce delays, we are kindly asking you to please collect your import cargo from both ports as soon as possible. For your convenience, our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work through the contingency planning. While we are doing all in our power to minimise the impact of the strike actions on your supply chain, for the sake of planning ahead, please reach out to your local Customer Experience representative to discuss best available options for your cargo moving forward. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

September 01, 2022 – Update 05

The eight-day strike at the Port of Felixstowe has officially ended and terminal operations have now returned to normal.

During the strike period, Maersk teams worked hard to establish appropriate planning and contingencies to minimise disruption to customer supply chains, as well as provide all the information needed to plan ahead effectively.

To give you as much visibility on the future situation and further minimise delays, please see below for the latest changes to our vessel line-up.

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

If your cargo is affected by the above contingencies, your local Customer Experience representative will contact you as your booking is updated. If you need further help or have any questions, please reach out to us via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

We would like to thank you for your trust and understanding throughout a challenging period at Felixstowe. We look forward to continuing to support your supply chain needs in the future. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

August 24, 2022 – Update 04

At the Port of Felixstowe, strike action is currently under way until Monday 29 August and affecting logistics operations in and out of the UK.

Since the strike was announced, A.P. Moller – Maersk teams have been hard at work looking to minimise disruption to customer supply chains and give you all the tools and information needed to plan ahead effectively.

Our contingency measures are in place to combat the circumstances at Felixstowe, including making changes to our vessel line-up to maximise available labour at the immediate conclusion of the strike. Please see below for the latest details:

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

Once normal service resumes at the end of the strike, we anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels and therefore encourage customers to book early. Our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

If your cargo is affected by the above contingencies, your local Customer Experience representative will reach out to you as your booking is updated. If you need further help or have any questions, please get in touch with us via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

We will continue to do all in our power to minimise the impact of strike action on your supply chain and look forward to continuing to serve your integrated logistics needs in the future. If you have any queries at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

August 18, 2022 – Update 03

As your integrated logistics provider, we at A.P. Moller – Maersk want to provide optimum visibility on the situation at the Port of Felixstowe in order for you to plan and manage your supply chain effectively.

Since our last communication, we understand that talks between Hutchinson Ports and Unite the Union have not resumed. As such, the planned strike action from Sunday 21 August – Monday 29 August 2022 is still set to go ahead at this time.

The circumstances can change at short notice and we will be sure to keep you updated as soon as we know anything further.

Our teams are working hard to establish a number of contingency measures that minimise the impact of strike action on our customers, including changes to the vessel line-up. To maximise available labour immediately before and after the strike, a number of vessel ETAs have been advanced or delayed – as per the table below:

*Correct at the time of the advisory – subject to change

For the three omitted vessels – AE6 MSC Sveva 227W, L02 Vilnia Maersk 234N and SLC Cosco Vietnam 229N – the planned contingency to get import cargo back into the UK is as follows:

If your cargo is affected by the above contingencies, your local Customer Experience representative will reach out to you as your booking is updated. If you need further help or have any questions, please reach out to us via your usual contact or on (+44) 0330 912 0431.

Once the strike actual is complete and normal service resumes, we anticipate demand for carrier haulage to be at very high levels and therefore encourage customers to book early. Our live carrier haulage availability can be found here.

We understand and appreciate your frustration with the situation at Felixstowe and thank you for your trust and loyalty in such challenging circumstances. Rest assured, we will do all in our power to mitigate the disruption on your business and keep you updated every step of the way.

August 12, 2022 – Update 02

In the interest of providing our customers with reliable news on latest developments, A.P. Moller – Maersk is providing an update on the strike action at the Port of Felixstowe, together with our contingency plans and actions.

Hutchison Ports and the Union Unite have been unable to reach an agreement after a revised pay offer was put to workers but rejected by the hourly branch of Unite. The staff branch of Unite & Police Federation of Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company have agreed to put the offer to their members for ballot. At this moment, no further talks are scheduled.

Our teams remain at your disposal at all times so please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Customer Experience team with any questions.

August 08, 2022 – Update 01

A.P. Moller – Maersk is aware of the announced eight-day strike action at the Port of Felixstowe later this month. The strike action is planned to start on Sunday 21 August, and end on Monday 29 August, and is expected to cause significant operational delays. Negotiations between the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company and the union Unite are scheduled to continue today, 8 August.

Our teams continue working hard on planning appropriate contingencies and expect to share concrete details and actions we are taking shortly. As we work through the planning, we appreciate your understanding and support, and will keep you updated on any developments, as the situation can change in line with the ongoing negotiations.

For the sake of planning ahead, we encourage you to reach out to your local Customer Experience representative to discuss available options to mitigate the impact of the strike action. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your local Maersk team.