Limassol port shutdown averted as dockers return to work

TRANSPORT Minister Vasiliki Anastasiadou had to intervene on Saturday to avert escalation of a work dispute that prompted dock workers in Limassol port to down tools for a few hours in the morning.

Dockers stopped working over a jurisdictional dispute with DP World, the private company that handles general cargo.

The company insists that dockers must be restricted to loading and unloading ships and not do work on the dock.

The dispute interrupted ship servicing, including vessels supporting the ExxonMobil drillship Stena IceMax.

The minister travelled to Limassol port where she sat down with all those involved and managed to get them all to agree to a temporary solution so that dockers could return to work.

“A permanent solution will be found at a later stage, soon I hope, after we receive the necessary legal advice,” the minister said.

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