A strike by truck drivers that began Sunday at India's southern Port of Chennai has halted container movements to and from the private terminal operated by DP World.

Truck operators are protesting the Dubai company's decision to ban the entry of vehicle cleaners into the terminal area on security grounds.

Negotiations between terminal management and truckers have so far failed to resolve the impasse.

In May, truckers at the Port of Cochin also struck work for four days over the same issue. The strike ended after DP World, Cochin's private terminal operator, agreed to put on hold its proposed plan pending further negotiations.

Chennai handled a record 880,000 TEUs in fiscal 2006-07 compared with 829,000 TEUs in 2006.