Some of the cargo ships opted to cut short their stopovers in Buenos Aires, while three others cancelled their stops in the Argentine capital, thus preventing the offloading of 2,700 containers carrying $82 million in assorted merchandise.

SUPA, which is demanding a pay hike and union benefits already possessed by the crane operators union, also announced that it will stage a national strike at cargo terminals Tuesday.

'It's disastrous to see the damage it does to the country when foreign trade is completely halted by a fight between unions. On top of that, they are not adhering to the obligatory conciliation and are completely ignoring the Labor Ministry,' said a spokesman for Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co., which has two vessels docked at the port.