The container shipping sector of COSCO Shipping will stop accepting new bookings for cargoes to and from Ukraine, while Maersk has also halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February.
COSCO
COSCO’S vessels already en route to Ukraine will be re-directed to elsewhere available, COSCO Shipping said, but it did not provide further details.
Maersk
As Reuters reports, a Maersk spokesperson informed that services in Russia remain available, but the company decided not to call any ports in Ukraine until 28 February and stop acceptance orders to and from Ukraine up until further notice.
All of the company’s 60 employees in Ukraine were at home and safe, the spokesperson added.
Currently, Maersk has two container shipping routes in Ukraine and they call at the port of Pivdenniy some 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of Odessa.
Operations at Ukrainian Sea ports suspended
Considering the tense situation in Ukraine, Dryad informed that all commercial operations at Ukrainian Sea ports have been suspended by order of the Ukrainian military. There have also been unconfirmed reports of Russian vessels blocking access to Ukrainian waters at the Northern edge of the Romanian EEZ.
Any vessel currently within Ukrainian Ports should seek to leave immediately if deemed safe to do so. Vessels should ensure they are broadcasting on AIS and clearly state their intentions across VHF. Any vessels challenged by Russian military vessels should comply fully with instructions.
At this time, Dryad Global advices all commercial operators to avoid any transit or operation within the EEZ of Ukraine or Russia within the Black Sea. Commercial operations within the EEZ of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania remain unaffected at this time.
As the situation develops there remains a high degree of uncertainty regarding the freedom of navigation throughout the wider Black Sea. As such the primary risk to all vessels and commercial operations operating beyond the key risk area remains one of commercial uncertainty rather than risk to safety of crew.
Vessels and commercial operators are reminded to avoid all operations and transit within the EEZ of Russia and Ukraine at this time. No attempt should be made to access the Sea of Azov.