Seafarers Begin Strike Against Three Ships Owned by Iceland’s Eimskip
The bosuns and able seamen represented by the Icelandic Seamen’s Union (SI) followed through on their earlier threat and began a strike on Monday, May 25, at noon. The three containerships owned by the Icelandic company Eimskip are impacted by the indefinite strike.
The contract with the union, which had provided for wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments, expired at the end of last year. Eimskip reports it has been in talks with the union, including efforts with the state mediator, while denying media reports that it was using lower-cost foreign labor instead of its Icelandic crews.
Last week, the company reported a standstill agreement with the union regarding shoreside employees who had also threatened to strike between May 26 and 28. The strike was called off while a competency analysis of port operations is carried out. Negotiations on the collective wage agreement were deferred until October 31. The company is also implementing a new job classification system and competency-based pay for harbor employees.
Three ships, Bruarfoss, Dettifoss, and Selfoss, owned by the company based in Reykjavik but registered through a subsidiary, Faroe Ship, and operating under the flag of the Faroe Islands, are impacted by the strike. Media reports have said the company was requiring the seafarers to sign on via the Faroe Islands at lower wages or that it could use foreign crews earning wages at one-fifth the scale of Icelandic sailors.
The company denied these reports, saying the crewmembers working on its three owned ships are employed according to Icelandic collective agreements with the unions. The company asserts the dispute is over demands by the union that Eimskip operate a certain number of owned ships. Management notes its strategy is a mixed fleet of owned and chartered vessels.
Under financial pressure, Eimskip undertook in the second quarter of 2025 “extensive cost-saving measures, including a reduction in the company’s fleet, changes to the shipping system, a reduction in full-time equivalents, and restraints in investments,” it told shareholders. At the beginning of this month, the company reported a 4.5 percent decline in volumes in the first quarter of 2026, with a 1.4 percent decline in shipping revenues, and a total decline in revenues of 4.8 percent driven by its freight forwarding business. EBITDA was down nearly 40 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, and the company reported a bottom line loss of €4.7 million (US$5.5 million), an increase from a loss of €775 thousand in the first quarter last year.
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The vessels Bruarfoss and Dettifoss (according to AIS signals) are now idle, while the Selfoss is proceeding to Reykjavik. Eimskip expects that the strike will affect its sailing schedule and services. It said it is working to minimize the disruptions, while media reports indicated no new negotiations were scheduled.