Containers are stacked at the Vladivostok Commercial Port, belonging to the FESCO Group.
Yuri Smityuk | Tass | beautiful pictures
The world’s three largest container shipping lines have all suspended non-essential bookings to and from Russia, Join the rapidly growing list of companies to alienate Moscow because of the invasion of Ukraine.
Shipping giants include Switzerland-based MSC, of Denmark Maersk and France’s CMA CGM both announced on Tuesday that they will be suspending freight orders to and from Russia until further notice.
The move exempted the shipping of essential items, such as food, medical equipment and humanitarian goods.
It happened as Russia stepped up its attacks on important Ukrainian cities, with fighting raging in the north, east and south of the country. The United Nations says 1 million refugees from Ukraine have now fled to neighboring countries.
The combination of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a series of Western sanctions triggered a massive exodus of companies from Moscow.
MSC said on Tuesday that it was enforcing a temporary halt to all shipments to and from Russia effective immediately. The world’s largest shipping line says the service covers areas including the Baltics, the Black Sea and the Russian Far East.
Maersk said it was “deeply concerned about how the crisis continues to escalate in Ukraine.” The company has its headquarters in Copenhagen speak Earlier this week they were considering suspending all non-essential bookings to and from Russia.
“The situation is evolving with governments placing new sanctions against Russia and regular adjustments being made to the restricted list,” which subsequently prompted the company to announce the suspension. non-essential deliveries to and from Russia.
It explains the essential delivery exception is to show that the shipping giant is focused on social responsibility and “struggles to support society.”
Meanwhile, CMA CGM said on Tuesday that in the interest of safety, it has taken the decision to suspend all bookings to and from Russia “as of today and until further notice. “
Container shipping companies play an important role in global trade, transporting much of the world’s manufactured goods. These steps by the world’s largest container shipping lines have helped Russia cut off a large part of the world’s shipping capacity.
The conflict escalates and severity of Russia sanctions is expected to have a significant impact on the shipping industry for some time.
“The market is scrambling to understand what sanctions mean in practice and the steps they need to take,” said Nick Austin, shipping partner at global law firm Reed Smith.
“Ship owners and charterers are scrutinizing their belongings to understand their legal rights under the traditional ‘terms of war’,” he added. “But these terms come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so need to be considered carefully.”
