Finland Times

     The industrial action began at 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Friday, and was said to last the whole day in Helsinki and half a day in Kotka, a town east of Helsinki, said the Finnish language daily Helsingin Sanomat.

     A total of nearly 500 workers participated in the work stoppage; 403 in Kotka and 62 in Helsinki.

     Steveco plans to lay-off 76 employees, most of whom work at the Kotka port.

     According to Henri Kuitunen, CEO of Steveco, the stoppage will cause massive disorders in the processing of loading and unloading and possible shipping delays at the port of Kotka. The impact on the port of Vuosaari in Helsinki would be smaller.

     Kuitunen said the port handlings of four vessels would be affected. He estimated that a total of about 1,000 containers would remain unprocessed.

     Founded in 1987, Steveco is the largest port operator in Finland. The company currently employs about 1,200 people.