Splash Ports — 2026-09-17
Maritime and Ports
Germany’s major seaports are moving closer to open-ended industrial action at a time when container terminals across northern Europe are already struggling with high yard densities, vessel delays and inland bottlenecks.
Services union Ver.di said 64.7% of more than 5,500 workers rejected the latest employers’ offer covering around 11,000 employees at Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Emden and Brake.
A formal membership vote on indefinite strikes is now running until October 1. At least 75% must support escalation before Ver.di’s federal bargaining commission can authorise open-ended stoppages.
Employers represented by the Central Association of German Seaport Operators have offered a 3.4% hourly wage increase over 12 months, plus higher holiday pay and an additional allowance for workers at the main container terminals. Ver.di has been seeking an 8.2% increase.
The threat comes before Germany’s terminals have fully recovered from earlier stoppages. Kuehne+Nagel’s latest operational update puts Bremerhaven yard occupancy at around 90%, with constraints on dangerous goods and out-of-gauge cargo. Hamburg was averaging vessel waits of 1.88 days, while Wilhelmshaven’s recent 48-hour strike cut weekly terminal capacity by more than 30%, forcing some containers to be rolled.
Pressure extends well beyond Germany. At Rotterdam, ECT yard occupancy was running at 93%, with barge and feeder delays of between 24 and 72 hours, while Maasvlakte II was at 80%. Antwerp was averaging vessel waits of 1.38 days, and London Gateway 1.67 days.
Inland connections are adding another layer of difficulty. Maersk warned this month that low Rhine water levels in Germany and the Netherlands are reducing barge capacity, while congestion continues across several major northern European gateways.
The carrier said recent German industrial action had already added to existing operational pressure across northern Europe, disrupting connections through Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven.
With yards already tight and year-end cargo flows approaching, sustained strikes at Germany’s major gateways would leave carriers with increasingly limited room to shift volumes elsewhere in the northern European port range.