Evergreen faces huge losses in an extended clash with unions

Dockers have refused to handle the company's vessels after it objected to its US port captains being unionised

The stand-off between Taiwan's Evergreen Marine and labour unions at ports on the United States east coast shows no sign of abating as anxious Asian exporters await the fate of thousands of boxes of their cargo stranded aboard idle vessels.

Since May 14, members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) have refused to handle cargo from Evergreen ships at selected ports in New York after port captains from the company's US-based subsidiary, Evergreen America, began picketing for being blocked from joining the union.

As the dispute entered its 23rd day, an industry analyst said the company and its global subsidiaries stood to lose several billion Taiwan dollars this year if the disruption to services lasted to the end of the week.

The estimate was made on the basis that the company will have lost 70,000 teu (20-ft equivalent units) in potential sales during the first four weeks due to vessel-scheduling disruptions. On a group basis minus Eva Air, the loss would represent up to 5 per cent of global sales.

The estimate did not include legal costs that may arise from non-delivery of shipper contract terms as Evergreen since the start of the dispute has declared force majeure on services connected to 11 of its vessels, protecting it from liability for matters it considers out of its control.