Crane crash caught on camera

Footage of an incident involving the Liberia-flagged containership CCNI Antártico last Monday has been released, showing the dramatic moment the vessel demolished a gantry crane at International Container Terminal Services Inc’s (ICTSI) Contecon terminal at the port of Guayaquil in Ecuador, reports IFW sister publication Lloyd’s List.

The 2002-built, 4,100 teu boxship was on its maiden voyage on a service between Asia and the west coast of South America.

Footage posted on YouTube by a Contecon stevedore shows the dramatic moment the Antártico brushed another vessel at berth before ploughing into one of three gantry cranes at the Contecon facility. Remarkably, nobody was injured in the accident.

Investigators are looking into the extent of the damage caused by the incident, but Contecon general manager Luis Cao said that the crane would need to be replaced, a measure that will hit productivity for up to eight months.

Box business beats growth records

Global container throughput growth in February was the most rapid on record.

And volumes in the first quarter of this year are expected to reach close to pre-financial crisis levels, according to the latest figures from Macquarie Research.

Based on data from ports accounting for around two-thirds of global container throughput, the firm said volumes increased 25% year-on-year in February.

While year-on-year growth is expected to reduce to around 15% this month, Macquarie said: “The question mark now is whether this parity will hold, or whether the Q1 volumes were inflated by the end of the de-stocking cycle.”

UK rail chaos after Easter

Freight transport on the UK’s railways will be severely disrupted after the Easter break, following the breakdown of talks between transport workers’ unions and Network Rail yesterday.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) and infrastructure operator Network Rail met at conciliation service Acas, but negotiations over plans to cut 1,500 maintenance jobs were adjourned with no agreement in sight.

The strike will begin at 6am on 6 April and run until 11.59pm on 9 April.

The RMT announced that signal workers had voted 54% vote in favour of a strike, on a turnout of 71%.

They will walk out for four hours, twice a day over the strike period, to coincide with rush hours, while the maintenance staff will stay out for the full four days.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “RMT negotiators have worked flat out to try and reach an agreement that protects rail safety, job security and working agreements in the disputes involving signalling and maintenance staff on Britain’s railways.

“Despite hours of talks, we have received nothing concrete from Network Rail that addresses the key issues.”

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s director of operations and customer services, said: “This proposed strike is not about safety. Britain’s railway is safer than ever. The issue of safety is a smokescreen from a union leadership stuck in the steam age.

“Our contingency plans are well advanced and aim to keep as many trains running as possible. But a national rail strike will have a severe impact on services and on Britain.”

Taking industrial action - a legal guide

Knowledge of the law of industrial action is vital for trade unionists as the consequences of a failure to observe the provisions of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 when going out on strike are severe. This booklet is designed to present to union reps the relevant information about taking industrial action so that the process is clearly understood.

Introduction (514 words)

Evidence of state interference with workers’ attempts to join together and improve their pay and conditions dates back to the Statute of Labourers 1351 . The motivation has been both economic (to prevent workers negotiating terms which are more costly for employers) and political (to prevent workers forming ...

1. The law — basic principles and definitions (600 words)

The law is created in two ways: statutory law or legislation (statutes) is made by Parliament passing Acts of Parliament. Common law is made by judges in courts of law. The judge gives a decision in a particular case and his/her reason for that decision. Authoritative precedents (which in turn influence later cases). Statutes can override the common law. ...

2. Immunities (1714 words)

Tort law is a body of law that addresses and provides remedies for civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations and is not ...

3. Balloting (2679 words)

In 2005, the Department for Trade and Industry (now BIS — the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) produced an updated version of its Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers . A copy of the Code is available at www.berr.gov.uk/files/file18013.pdf . ...

4. Taking industrial action (847 words)

At least seven days before it starts, the union must take reasonable steps to give the employer proper official notice of the intention to Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ( TULRCA), the notice must include information that the union holds that will enable the employer to plan for the industrial action and to lawfully ...

5. Halting industrial action (828 words)

The four-week rule for commencing industrial action does not prevent a union from suspending action and then re-imposing it ( Monsanto v TGWU [1986] IRLR 406 ). However, the gap between the suspension and re-imposition of the action should not be too long, or indicate a change in tactics by Post Office v UCW [1990] IRLR 143 ). ...

6. Injunctions (375 words)

The injunction (interdict in Scotland) is the most popular legal remedy sought by employers. An injunction is a court order to do or to ...

7. Who can sue (542 words)

The law is intended to assist the employer (or a customer or supplier of the employer) to take legal action against trade unions, strike ...

8. Dismissal (820 words)

The law governing dismissals during industrial action is found in sections 237-238 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). The first key issue is whether the action was official (i.e. the union authorised or endorsed it) or unofficial. ...

9. Picketing (1093 words)

Picketing is where employees encourage others (in breach of their contracts) not to attend work during a trade dispute. Section 220 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ( TULRCA) gives statutory immunity to some individuals, but only where the picketing is in order to peacefully: ...

10. Effect on terms and conditions and benefits (975 words)

Going on strike will not result in a breach in an individual’s continuity of employment (section 216 Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA)). Neither will being locked out from work break continuity. However, the period on strike (and any period locked out) will not add to ...

Checklist (342 words)

The requirements for a trade dispute potentially covered by immunity from tort claims are that the dispute: ...

Further information (283 words)

Throughout the booklet references have been made to the relevant statutes. Copies of these can be obtained online from the Office for Public Sector www.opsi.gov.uk . In Northern Ireland, legislation is available online from the Labour Relations Agency website at: www.lra.org.uk . Legislation is also available at: www.statutelaw.gov.uk . ...

More laid-up ships back in service

The number of laid-up ships fell to its lowest since last July this week as carriers continue to return ships into service.

The latest figures from Paris-based analyst AXS Alphaliner reveal that the capacity of ships laid-up this week stands at 1.24m teu – 9.4% of the world’s containership fleet.

The figures also reveal that the tonnage of carrier-owned laid-up ships has fallen from 1.03m teu to 633,000teu.

Alphaliner predicted that the idle fleet could fall below 1m teu over the next couple of months as new services and additional demand, created by super-slow-steaming, absorb surplus ships and a few idle veterans of 2,500-4,000teu are scrapped.

Alphaliner said: “These moves could lead to the employment of about 40 additional ships of more than 3,500teu by the end of April, with more than 15 units drawn from the pool of idle ships.

“A number of carrier-controlled units of 4,000-7,000teu are still idle, but some of these could be re-activated at short notice, if justified by the demand growth.”

As a result of carrier optimism for the summer season, charter market ships of 4,000-5,500teu are now becoming harder to find, following a wave of charter deals over the last few weeks.

Box volumes see strong recovery

LATEST figures from the European Liner Affairs Association, for January, show a strong recovery in container volumes to and from Europe on most trades compared with the same month in 2009, the lowest point in the downturn.
That caveat aside, two other reports showed encouraging volume growth involving disparate trades.

Three people injured in two separate incidents at Southampton docks

A DOCK worker was left injured and stranded when his container mover toppled over last night, in the second serious incident at Southampton’s docks within a matter of hours.

It happened on the same day an 80ft crane on a barge collapsed onto the ship, leaving two men injured.

The incidents come just eight months after crane operator Jay Squibb was left a crushed voicebox and windpipe after his driver’s cab plunged 100ft when the machine he was operating collapsed as he unloaded containers from a ship at the city’s port.

Two crewmen from the vessel needed medical treatment after the first of yesterday’s incidents, which happened shortly after 10am in an area near the city cruise terminal on Herbert Walker Avenue.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has launched an investigation, but port bosses insisted it was a very different type of incident to the one which injured Jay, a 33-year-old father-of-two from Woolston, because that involved a quayside crane.

But just hours later, at around 12.20am today, a 32-year-old man was left injured when his empty container handler overturned.

The worker was transporting two containers on the machine, similar to a large fork lift truck, but it toppled over under the weight of the boxes as he came to a halt in the DP World container port off Western Avenue.

The man suffered a knee injury in the incident, but was left suspended around 20 feet off the ground.

Fire crews from Redbridge and St Mary’s were called to help, using an aerial ladder to rescue the stricken worker, who was then taken by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital.

He has since been treated and allowed home.

Emergency services remained on the scene until 1.30am clearing diesel that had spilled from the carrier.


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