The giant cranes of the Port of Beirut. (Credit: PHB archive photo)
A week after the start of a strike by civil servants, shipping containers are piling up at the port of Beirut, the port's director general, Omar Itani, and the president of the food importers' union, Hani Bohsali, warned the media on Wednesday.
No fewer than 1,200 containers will be stranded at the port by Saturday if no solution is found to defuse the strike, Bohsali said, citing information he received from the port.
Lebanon's caretaker cabinet was due to meet on Wednesday afternoon to tackle the issue of salaries and productivity bonuses, which are at the root of the civil servants' discontent.
When contacted, Bohsali assured L'Orient Today that the figures he had given were "the most recent." He added that the blockage of customs clearance procedures was linked to the work stoppage of around 10 civil servants, mainly inspectors from the ministries of agriculture and economy and trade. Itani also made this point, the al-Nashra news website reported.
"The role of the inspectors is to take samples from the cargo to be cleared through customs and send them to the laboratories. That's why the port of Beirut is paralyzed while customs employees and laboratory staff are at work," explained Bohsali.
According to the Tripoli port's director, Ahmad Tamer, whom L'Orient Today contacted, the situation is similar there. Tripoli port is the only Lebanese port other than Beirut that is equipped to handle container ships.