CARRIERS SEE END OF VENEZUELAN STRIKES

CARRIERS SEE END OF VENEZUELAN STRIKES    Alianca, Columbus Line and Crowley American Transport, three shipping lines of the Hamburg Sud group, are taking “initial steps” to resume their shipping services to and from Venezuela, after a lengthy interruption caused by the country’s national strikes.
   Services by Hamburg Sud and other carriers have stopped since December.
   The three ocean carriers are warning shippers that conditions in Venezuela are still fluid and it is not yet clear how long it will take to fully restore normal service schedules.
   Initial Venezuelan vessel calls are now being scheduled, “with a first priority on the delivery of Venezuela-bound cargoes which were in transit when the dispute began, and which have been held in ports in the southern U.S. and the Caribbean since the cessation of service in December,” the carriers said.
   The carriers said clearance of these backlogs and repositioning of equipment to re-establish normal cargo flows is essential to the full restoration of service.
   Customers with questions about specific shipments are being advised to contact the carriers.