Status: 03/01/2022 1:01 p.m
Like other shipping companies before, the container giant Maersk is stopping all deliveries to and from Russia because of the Ukraine war. Humanitarian goods are excluded. The Port of Hamburg expects impairments.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, the Danish container shipping company Maersk has put most of the transports to and from Russia on hold. “Since the stability and security of our operations are directly and indirectly affected by the sanctions, new Maersk bookings by sea and land to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended,” said the Copenhagen-based group. Russian ports would no longer be called “until further notice”.
Humanitarian goods will continue to be delivered
Deliveries of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods are excluded. With this, Maersk wants to underline its “social responsibility” and its efforts to support the population “despite all complications and uncertainties”. The shipping company will continue to monitor the situation and resume business with Russia “as soon as we can guarantee stability and security again,” said the Danish company.
However, the shipping company wants to try to complete orders that were placed before the sanctions against Russia came into force, taking the punitive measures into account. Maersk operates container shipping routes to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, and Vladivostok and Vostochny on Russia’s east coast. The company employs around 500 people in Russia.
In addition, Maersk owns 31 percent of the Russian port operator Global Ports, which operates six terminals in Russia and two in Finland. “With Global Ports, we are examining how we can comply with the constantly evolving sanctions and restrictions and preparing possible next steps,” said the world’s largest container shipping company. The group had already announced a booking freeze for Ukraine on Thursday. Maersk has 60 employees there.
Port of Hamburg expects impairments
The Singapore-based logistics company Ocean Network Express (ONE) and the Swiss shipping group MSC made similar decisions to Maersk. Hapag-Llloyd had also decided on a temporary booking ban for Russia and Ukraine last week. The traditional Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced on Friday that it would initially suspend its weekly scheduled service from Hamburg to Kaliningrad.
According to the port, there are currently ten liner services between the Hamburg pier and Russia: seven with St. Petersburg and three with Kaliningrad. The Port of Hamburg expects an impact on supply chains and goods handling. This cannot yet be specifically quantified, said Hamburg’s Economics Senator Michael Westhagemann yesterday. However, it is foreseeable that there will be impairments. The head of the Port Authority (HPA), Jens Meier, said trade with Russia had come to a standstill. “Everyone’s a little clueless at the moment.”
There are many companies in the Hanseatic city that have been trading with Russia for years. There are still no fixed regulations for dealing with ships flying the Russian flag. France and Great Britain have already rejected the first ships from Russian owners, Meier said. “I’m expecting a clear announcement shortly as to what is no longer allowed.”
The British government announced legislation banning all ships connected in any way with Russia from entering its ports. The European Union (EU) is also threatening an entry ban.