Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
The war in Ukraine continues to escalate, which is expected to have a significant impact on the shipping industry in the near future. The hostilities along with a range of Western sanctions have led to a mass “turning back” phenomenon of foreign companies to Moscow. Recently, on 1st March , the world’s leading shipping lines simultaneously stopped operating routes through Russia. This action is to ensure the safety of the business.
Temporarily suspending orders in and out of Russia
Since 1st March, the shipping giant MSC said, cargoes to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended. The decision takes effect for regions including the Baltics, the Black Sea and Far East Russia.
Following MSC, Maersks – the world’s second largest shipping company also made a similar decision and applied to all Russian ports. Maersk’s statement shows that the company attaches great importance to mutual responsibility and has made efforts to support society.
However, the two shipping lines said that essential goods such as food, medical equipment and humanitarian aid will still be received and filtered.
In addition, CMA-CGM said it will stop orders from and to Russia until further notice. This is the largest shipping company in France and the third largest container company in the world, currently providing more than 200 shipping routes between 420 ports in more than 150 different countries and territories.
Since these shipping lines all play a key role in global trade, this situation means that a large part of the world’s shipping capacity is turning away from Russia. The escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict and the severity of sanctions against Russia are expected to have a significant impact on the global shipping industry for some time.
“The market is trying to figure out what the sanctions are really like, and what they need to do,” said Nick Austin, shipping attorney for Reed Smith.
Khanh Huyen Nguyen
Russia – Ukraine war could have dire impacts on global supply chains
