Recently, a 24-hour international dockworkers' strike initiated by the Italian grassroots union federation USB swept across the Mediterranean coast, affecting over 20 ports in countries including Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, and Morocco, plunging regional shipping into chaos.

The core demand of this strike is opposition to ports participating in weapons shipments, particularly amid the Gaza conflict, protesting the transport of arms to Israel. Major Italian ports—Livorno, Genoa, Venice, La Spezia, Ravenna, and Trieste—were severely impacted, with terminal operations nearly paralyzed and significant delays in rail-road intermodal transport. La Spezia saw a 78% work stoppage rate, while Trieste's logistics corridor to Central Europe was also severely disrupted.

Shipping companies bore the brunt of the impact. ZIM's “Zim Virginia” was denied berthing at Livorno, with unions alleging it was “carrying weapons”; the “Zim New Zealand” diverted to Port Fos in France; and the “Zim Australia” remained anchored off Koper, Slovenia. MSC's “MSC Eagle III,” originally scheduled to call at Ravenna and Venice, is now also anchored off Koper.

USB emphasized that this action is part of a global anti-war protest campaign aimed at disrupting the flow of war materials through civilian ports. Industry insiders warn that, compounded by harsh winter weather conditions, the Mediterranean-Central Europe supply chain may face prolonged delays.