Stakeholders have been working diligently to find an acceptable solution to the Port of Montreal lock-out which took effect on Monday, July 19th.
Following positive talks, it was confirmed earlier today that the union workers ratified the agreement laid out by the mediator, and we expect a return to work at 08.00 hrs tomorrow (Saturday).
As previously communicated, the OOCL Montreal 180W is currently in Halifax discharging her westbound cargo. In order to arrange the swiftest possible delivery of cargo to our customers and to minimize customer costs, the SLCS has decided to reload all cargo to the vessel and resume her voyage to Montreal. We will provide you with the vessel’s revised ETA shortly, along with details concerning cargo currently frustrated within the network and the resumption of export bookings. Unfortunately, this situation has caused substantial additional costs to OOCL.
The "OOCL Montreal" was proactively positioned from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Halifax as an act of good faith, and at a significant cost to OOCL as we sought to protect our customers’ supply chains and provide a viable alternate gateway port. With the subsequent resolution in the labour situation in Montreal, and the high burden placed on the limited transport infrastructure in Halifax, it has been decided that returning the vessel and cargo to Montreal will provide a more robust solution to our customers.
In order to recover the additional costs incurred by diverting the vessel, OOCL with now levy a CDS of 20'/US$145 and 40'/US$290 for all cargo (dry and reefer) loaded on board this voyage. By default this will be collected from cargo interests at destination by OOCL in North America. However, should UK or Irish customers wish to prepay the CDS they should contact Customer Service and provide written acceptance of the charge.
For future westbound GEX2 sailings it has been agreed with our SLCS partner that the following recovery action will be taken in order to restore our GEX2 network at the earliest opportunity. After completing operations in Montreal, the "OOCL Montreal" will sail eastbound to Antwerp before returning directly back to Montreal, thereby omitting Hamburg on a single voyage. In order to provide adequate coverage for the important Hamburg market the "Toronto Express" will then sail from Montreal to Hamburg only, before returning Montreal. Schedules for both are still to be finalised. Thereafter all GEX2 voyages will return to proforma port calls, though it may take another round-trip voyage to fully recover the schedule integrity.
The GEX1 MSC Aniello will arrive Montreal on Sunday we envisage that the disruption to the GEX1 network to be minimal.
OOCL deeply regrets the inconvenience this situation has caused and thank you for your patience and understanding. For any further information, kindly contact your Area Sales Manager or local Customer Service Centre.
