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Representatives of Spain's Boluda Tankers, a business division of Boluda Corporación Marítima S.L., confirmed yesterday that a strike which had been planned to take place today, February 11th, has been pushed back to next week.

The strike by workers directly involved in the delivery of marine fuel to ships in the Bay of Algeciras is now scheduled to take place on Friday, February 18th.

The workers claim that the current shift system is a security risk with six people working in shifts of seven days, and only three people working every 12 hours.

Boluda workers attended a meeting at the Labour Inspectorate yesterday, where it is said members of the government body were sympathetic to the claim by bunker delivery workers that the new shift schedules posed a security risk.

Juan Carlos Martínez, the head of the Union of Maritime Activities (Sindicato de Actividades Marítimas del Estado Español - SAME), expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting and said he hoped the issue would be resolved within a week.

Boluda Tankers is responsible for the supply of marine fuel at ports and harbours in Spain and Panama. The company has an annual supply capacity of over four million tonnes of fuel.