AP Moller-Maersk has warned that delays in ports are putting Russian foodstuff and medical cargoes at risk of being spoiled.
The Danish container ship owner told clients that shipments could be damaged due to “significant” hold-ups in terminals and at customs.
At the start of the month, Maersk and other big lines temporarily halted all bookings to and from Russia as western sanctions bit.
But this did not include food, medical and humanitarian supplies.
“We do, however, warn caution on still placing bookings for perishable cargo due to significant delays in key transhipment hubs that may damage the cargo,” Maersk said in a customer advisory.
The shipowner added that customs authorities in the European Union and UK are inspecting all containers to and from Russia transiting their terminals and ports to identify sanctioned and restricted shipments.
As a consequence, Maersk said it could not provide any guarantees and saw a “significant risk to our customers’ perishable cargo”.
Lines have been struggling with supply chain bottlenecks caused by booming demand for consumer goods during pandemic lockdowns.
The indirect impacts of sanctions is now putting further pressure on global freight, Maersk added.
“This is a global impact, and not only limited to trade with Russia,” the company said.
The move to halt normal Russian shipments followed similar decisions by Japanese-controlled Ocean Network Express (ONE), Germany’s Hapag Lloyd and Switzerland’s Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).
