Finnish Seamen to Strike in Support of Icebreaker Crews

zoom Finnish Engineer Association and the Finnish Seamen Union revealed plans to enter into strike on Thursday 2nd of April at 14:00. The action is being taken as a sign of support to the strike of the union members working on Finnish ice-breakers. Crews of the Finnish icebreakers have been negotiating the terms of a new labor contract for two months now. As of March 12, Finnish icebreakers have been pulled out of service, however the impact of the strike has been limited due to a mild winter. Arctia Shipping, which operates the Finnish icebreaker fleet, has imposed a lock out. Would no compromise be found between the Union members working on Finnish Ice-breakers and their employers, the strike will mean that vessels employing Finnish crew will not be handled in Finnish ports,Containerships transportation company informed. Containerships will mitigate any inconveniences to the extent possible, making use of the wider Containerships fleet which will not be affected. This might lead to possible changes in our schedules and we therefore recommend to our customers to consult our web schedule more frequently than usual, the company said. In addition, it is expected that the announced support strike will influence ferry services carrying cargo whereas passenger ferries should not be impacted. World Maritime News Staff