Five major shipping lines, including Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Cosco and Ocean Network Express, have told six Uruguayan ministers in a letter that the labour dispute at Montevideo's Terminal Cuenca del Plata (the main container terminal, handling about 80% of the port's containers and majority-owned by Belgium's Katoen Natie) has caused severe commercial harm and damaged the country's prestige. They say more than 35 days of disruption in 2026 have forced cancelled calls and diverted cargo to other regional ports, and they urge an immediate solution to restore predictability. The dispute, centred on whether a new collective agreement should run three or five years, remains unresolved despite government talks and an essential-services order that the union rejected, raising concerns about Uruguay's appeal as a logistics hub.