(new: Warning strike and closure also on Monday)

HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - Germany's most important goods handling center, the Port of Hamburg, will remain closed to large ships not only until this Friday, but also next Monday. Still during the warning strike at the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), which has been ongoing since Wednesday evening, the trade union Verdi announced in Berlin on Thursday that it would again paralyze container shipping on Monday. "In certain areas, it will not go on," said the deputy Verdi national chairwoman, Christine Behle. Accordingly, large ships will not be able to call at the port of Hamburg. In addition, there will be delays in loading and unloading ships.

The HPA had already closed the Elbe for ships requiring pilotage on Wednesday morning, making the Port of Hamburg inaccessible. The reason was that ships needed up to eight hours to get from the mouth of the Elbe to the port and, if they had entered the federal waterway later, would not have been able to reach the port in time for the official start of the strike at 5:30 p.m., according to an HPA spokeswoman.

The Verdi trade union is still on strike until 6 a.m. Friday on the so-called pilot transfer boats, which means that the pilots can no longer get to the ships. However, these are mandatory for ships 90 meters long or 13 meters wide and more. According to HPA information, about 18 ships bound for Hamburg are affected by the closure; according to the terminal lists, these include several large container ships, such as the freighters "Cosco Shipping Nebula," "Tihama" and "Eugen Maersk," each about 400 meters long.

Hamburg's largest terminal operator, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG), expressed anger at the warning strike. "What we are experiencing today is also a surprise for us," said CEO Angela Titzrath. HHLA Chief Operating Officer Jens Hansen said four container ships were waiting to leave at the company's own terminals on Thursday. He put the delays at 16 to 36 hours. About five container ships are expected to arrive in the coming days, he said. Hansen said something like this should not happen again in the future and pointed to other ports that had organized pilotage differently. Titzrath called on the HPA to agree on an emergency arrangement with Verdi "so that the navigability of the Elbe is guaranteed at all times".

Harsh criticism of the warning strike in the port came from the Hamburg Freight Forwarders Association. "Even with full concession of the legality of tough wage disputes and with all understanding for employee interests: this form of industrial action is a massive encroachment on the legal interests of uninvolved third parties," said association head Axel Plaß. He added that this strike was once again damaging Germany as a business location. "There must be no repetition of the strike situation if the Port of Hamburg is not to sink definitively into insignificance," Plaß warned. The bargaining parties would have to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

The Port of Hamburg is by far the most important cargo handling center in Germany. Every year, around 130 million tons of seaborne goods pass over the quay edges via a good 50 handling facilities. Around 290 berths provide space for ships of all sizes - from particularly large container and bulk carriers to oil and chemical tankers and smaller feeder and inland vessels.

With the warning strike, the unions want to emphasize their demands before the third round of negotiations from March 27 to 29 in Potsdam. Verdi is demanding a 10.5 percent wage increase, or at least 500 euros more per month, for the approximately 2.5 million employees in the public sector of the federal and local governments. The employers' side has so far offered five percent more money in two steps and one-time payments totaling 2,500 euros./klm/DP/stw