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French fishermen have now been joined by fishermen in other European countries in the protest against surging marine fuel prices.

Spain's Fishermen's Confederation has called for a protest to take place in Madrid on Friday against high fuel prices and Italian fishermen in the Adriatic are also expected to strike towards the end of the week.

In France, meanwhile, fishermen continued their long-running protest against the impact of rising bunker prices on their profit margins, demanding government action to cushion the effect of recent price hikes.

Last week French port workers and fishermen staged one-day strikes on 20th and 22nd May at the Fos-Lavera oil terminal near Marseille, causing disruption to shipping and bunkering activities as vessels were unable to berth and load product at the oil terminal. Fishermen shut off roads leading to Fos-Lavera and also blockaded around 20 ports on the Channel, Mediterranean, and Atlantic seaboards as well as at least five fuel depots.

Disruption at Fos-Lavera since April has already lead to a total financial loss of over EUR1 million according to recent estimates by the Port of Marseille Authority.