Container ships start waiting outside Canada West Coast ports

A lockout of dockworkers at ports in British Columbia started at 4:30pm (PT) on 4 November, including the major container gateways of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

The lockout by members of the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) followed the start of strike action by members of the foreman union ILWU Local 514 earlier on the same day.

The two sides remain at odds over a new collective agreement to replace the previous deal which expired in March 2023. The union’s response to employers “final offer” last week was to issue a 72-hour strike notice.

Meanwhile container ships arriving at ports on Canada’s West Coast are choosing to wait out the lockout, much as they did on the US East Coast port strike at the start of October.

Everstream Analytics Director of Intelligence Solutions, Mirko Woitzik, commented: “Similar to what happened during the US East and Gulf coast port strike, most vessels are still waiting to see how long the lockout will last and not diverting to other ports on the US West Coast. The number of vessels outside Canadian ports has increased from 6 before the strike to 8 as of this morning.”

As with the US East Coast strike carriers will be hoping for federal government intervention to bring parties back to the table. The unions see the lockout by employers as attempt to force such intervention.

Related:Shutdown of Canada’s largest ports begins

A strike by ILWU (Canada) members in July last year over a four-year labour deal with the BCMEA paralysed Canadian West Coast ports for 13 days and was only resolved when the federal government stepped in.