Danish shipping giant Maersk, Switzerland-based MSC and France’s CMA CGM all announced on Tuesday that they would no longer take bookings for goods from Russia and were suspending most deliveries to the country.
On Tuesday, the world’s three biggest shipping lines announced they have suspended non-essential deliveries to Russia, joining a growing list of companies shunning Moscow amid Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
A spokesperson for salmon producer Cermaq confirmed to SalmonBusiness today that whatever the arguments for ceasing the shipment of salmon to Russia from Chile, the move on Tuesday by the major shipping lines had made it a fait accompli.
“Cermaq has stopped the exports of salmon to Russia, there is too much uncertainty from all aspects in these coming weeks. Major shipping lines have already stopped deliveries to ports in Russia making the logistical situation impossible for now.”
Mowi also confirmed that they are not currently sending any salmon to Russia from Chile.
Citing the impact of sanctions, Maersk said in a statement, “bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies.”
MSC announced similar measures, saying it would “continue to accept and screen bookings for delivery of essential goods”.
CMA CGM said its “utmost priorities remain to protect our employees and ensure as much as possible the continuity of your supply chain”.
“In the interest of safety, the group has decided to suspend all bookings to and from Russia as of today and until further notice,” it said in a statement posted on its website.
Russia is the world’s eleventh-largest economy and supplier of one-sixth of all commodities and the moves by Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM mean that Moscow is effectively cut off from a large chunk of the globe’s shipping capacity.
The West has imposed heavy restrictions on Russia to close off its economy from the global financial system, pushing companies to halt sales, cut ties and dump tens of billions of dollars worth of investments.
