PRESS RELEASE Monday 24th November 1997 for immediate release
At approximately 6.00 am this morning sacked Liverpool dock workers and their supporters in the South Wales Support Group occupied two gantry cranes 60 feet over the Coastal Terminal on Cardiff docks.
Coastal Container Line is 100% owned by Mersey Docks and links Cardiff with Dublin and Belfast 5 times a week.
Three demonstrators have taken up positions inside the gantry cranes causing work to stop on the Coastal vessel "KIRSTEN", while twenty five pickets at the main gates of the port are peacefully demonstrating in support of the dismissed Liverpool dock workers who now face a third Christmas on their own picket lines in the Port of Liverpool.
Mariam Kamish, one of the leaders of the Liverpool dockers support group in South Wales speaking this morning from the occupied crane declared that they intended "to continue to occupy the gantry cranes for as long as possible in protest against the sacking of 500 Liverpool dockers in September 1995 together with the use of casual labour in the majority of UK ports".
The peaceful occupation follows-on from last week's successful picket which sealed off the Port of Cardiff for two hours last week, causing severe congestion and delays to Mersey Docks traffic in the port.
mobile (inside occupied crane): +(44) 385 232 400
Merseyside Port Shop Stewards: +(44) 151 207 3388
12:15 pm 24 Nov
Following assurances from Cardiff Police Chief Inspector Thomas obtained by Merseyside Port Shop Stewards Committee, supporters occupying Coastal Container Line cranes agreed to end their action after paralyzing all work on the "Kirsten" for 6 hours.
With police threatening arrests, the stewards rang the Chief Inspector and were assured that if protestors withdrew without damage to the cranes there would be no prosecutions.
Meanwhile, it emerged that Mersey Docks Executive Director Ken Wharton rang the Cardiff Port Manager Rob Gravestock this morning, only to be told that Associated British Ports could not resolve their problem for them. Gravestock himself is still smarting from the 3 mile tailback last Wednesday, apparently a bigger issue for the ABP Port Manager than today's difficulties at Coastal Containers.
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