Norwegian cargo ship caught up in Canadian industrial action
MV Indiana remains stuck in Kitimat due to Rio Tinto labour dispute.
A Norwegian-flagged cargo ship has found herself caught up in a labour dispute between workers and the mining giant, Rio Tinto.
The 44,980 dwt vessel arrived in Kitimat, British Columbia on 17th July to load a cargo of aluminium, but is still waiting for her cargo, over four weeks later.
Five days before the vessel was due to dock, pay negotiations broke down between Rio Tinto and 900 members of the Unifor union. The disgruntled workers have now staged a strike, paralysing port operations at the two wharves that handle Rio Tinto’s aluminium shipments.
She is now running low on the low-sulphur fuel she is required to burn under Canadian law because subcontractors refuse to cross picket lines to deliver it and all of her crew must stay aboard because of Canadian Covid-19 regulations.
