FS Bullets & Brass Blogs
Shipping Incident bulletin 15th March 2019
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This week’s bulletin contains updates about:Â France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Finland, USA, Mozambique, Brazil, Worldwide, Israel, Sweden.
France
Start date:  4th March
End date:Â Â 1st April
Strike to affect airport operations: the French airport customs workers have called for a work-to-rule strike until April 1. The strike action is expected to intensify on March 11, particularly at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Associated disruptions and road congestion are also expected at airports in Orly, Chambery, Grenoble and Nice.
Ireland
Start date:  13th March
End date:Â Â 14th March
Due to adverse weather caused by Storm Gareth, the crossing to the Republic of Ireland from the UK was delayed. As a result, some parcels have been delayed for 24 hours.
Germany
Start date:  14th March
End date:Â Â Unknown
Strike affects airport operations: around 1,000 ground handling employees together with labour union ver.di have started a strike over a salary dispute at Hamburg Airport in Germany. Flight cancellations and delays are likely to occur.
Italy
Start date:  12th March
End date:Â Â Unknown
Shortage of international mail bags: Poste Italiane indicated on March 12 that it has problems with an unexpected shortage of its blue international empty bags for priority letter mail. No timeline as to how long the potential disruption would persist has immediately been provided.
Netherlands
Start date:  11th March
End date:Â Â Ongoing
Strong winds affect airport operations: strong winds with gusts of over 120 km/h have affected airport operations at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Netherlands. Since March 11, more than 150 flights have been cancelled and many delayed. No timeline as to when the operations would normalize has immediately been provided.
Finland
Start date:Â Â 4th March
End date:Â Â 11th March
Lockout affects airport operations: a group representing air traffic controllers plans to impose a one-week lockout at eight Finnish airports for March 4 and March 11. Flight disruptions are likely to occur.
United States
Start date:Â Â 10th March
End date:Â Â Â Ongoing
I-70 closed due to the avalanche: it has been reported that the I-70 was completely closed due to an avalanche near Silverthorne in Colorado, United States, resulting in significant road transportation delays.
Start date:Â Â 13th March
End date:Â Â Â Ongoing
Winter Storm Ulmer causes disruptions: Winter Storm Ulmer has been disrupting road traffic and airport operations across several Great Plains and Midwest states in the United States. Heavy snowfall, strong winds and power outages caused the cancellation of over 1,200 flights at Denver International Airport. According to forecasts, the storm is expected to move northeast through March 14.
Mozambique
Expected date:Â Â 15th March
Tropical Cyclone Idai to make landfall: Tropical Cyclone Idai is currently centered in the Mozambique Channel and is expected to continue towards Mozambique. The storm will likely make landfall over central Mozambique March 15 as either a Category 2 or 3 storm. Heavy rainfall is likely to cause disruption to road transportation and air traffic.
Brazil
Start date:Â Â 11th March
End date:Â Â Â Ongoing
Flooding affects road transportation: flooding following heavy rainfall has caused road disruption in Greater Sao Paulo, Brazil. Multiple roads are blocked by landslides and building collapses. Further traffic disruptions are likely as the rainfall is expected to continue throughout the week.
Worldwide
Start date:Â Â 12th March
End date:Â Â Â Unknown
Ban on Boeing 737 MAX may affect air traffic: Media sources reported on March 12 that the EU Aviation Safety Agency has issued a grounding order for Boeing 737 MAX aircraft due to safety measures. In total, more than 40 countries worldwide have grounded this type of aircraft following a plane crash in Ethiopia, which is likely to cause associated air traffic disruptions and flight cancellations.
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Technical problems
Israel
Start date:Â Â 15th March
End date:Â Â Unknown
Israel Postal Company informs other Union member countries and their designated operators that new software for its Courier Division will go live on Friday, 15 March 2019. As a result, there may be some temporary disruptions to the sending of EDI messages for EMS items.
Israel Postal Company apologizes in advance for any inconvenience and will inform member countries and their designated operators of further developments.
Unites States
Start date:Â Â 15th March
End date:Â Â Unknown
USPS is experiencing IT problems impacting the generation of EDI messages. They are currently working with their IT department to solve this problem. Based on initial investigations, it appears that some messages are not being processed properly. Further updates will be provided as soon as they become available.
Sweden
Start date:Â Â 15th March
End date:Â Â Unknown
PostNord Group AB informs other postal operators that owing to technical issues, there are currently irregularities in the transmission of EDI data for inbound letter mail items. They are working on the issue and will come back with information when the situation is back to normal.