A Zim Shipping vessel that was scheduled to unload at the
Port of Oakland on Sept. 27 instead departed for Southern California after it
was blocked by a group protesting in solidarity with Palestinians living in the
Gaza Strip who are directly affected by a recent wave of violence in the region.
Protesters began picketing around 5 am to block the ship
from unloading its cargo at Berth 57, but it was actually non-action by
longshore workers that caused the Hong Kong-flagged Zim Shanghai cargo vessel
to depart for another location.
According to the International Longshore & Warehouse
Union, its members would not unload the vessel because of safety concerns. The
protestors were said to have blocked ILWU Local 10 and Local 34 longshore
workers from driving into the terminal during the workers’ shifts at the port’s
SSA terminal.
“Longshoremen and clerks trying to report to work were
threatened physically at some points of ingress and their personal vehicles
were physically blocked,” a statement released by the ILWU about the incident
said in part. “As such, all personnel stood-by outside of the demonstration
perimeters for health and safety purposes.”
SSA released all personnel from work at about 8 pm, according to the union, while the Zim Shanghai set sail for the Port of Los Angeles.
The organizers of the protest, a group calling itself “Block
the Boat,” has previously targeted vessels operated by Zim, which is Israel’s biggest
cargo shipping company and is 32 percent owned by the country’s government.
In August, protesters kept the Zim Piraeus cargo ship
from being unloaded for days at the Port of Oakland when longshore workers
refused to cross picket lines. Despite its reluctance to tangle with the
protestors, however, the union has insisted it is not collaborating with the resistance
movement.
According to union communications director Craig Merrilees,
the ILWU is not among the groups organizing the protests, and the leadership
and membership of the ILWU have taken no position on the Israel/Gaza conflict.
