What is lashing?

Lashing is the work of securing containers to a ship so they cannot shift at sea. Workers called lashers fit and remove the metal rods, twist locks and bars that hold stacked containers in place.

Why it can halt a port

Containers cannot be loaded or discharged safely until the lashings are in the right state, and the work must be done at the quayside before a ship can sail or unload. A dispute among a relatively small group of lashers can therefore stop container handling at a terminal even if crane drivers and other workers are ready to work.

In the archive

Strikes of this kind are recorded as labour actions with the dates the unions and employers announced and the dates work resumed, cited to those parties and to press reports. We measure the change in port calls during the window where the data allows and show it with the standard caveat that it shows timing, not cause.

See the event archive and ports.