Maersk halts spot bookings for Asian container exports following Suez incident

New York — Danish shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk will temporarily cease taking new spot bookings for East Asian exports to all markets, starting immediately, as they expect the Suez Canal blockage will exacerbate equipment shortages, the company said March 30.

Maersk said the six-day disruption of about 10% of global trade passing through the Suez Canal will create ripple effects across global supply chains for weeks to come, resulting in a significant loss in carrying capacity.

"We want to assure you that this is only temporary so that we may quickly move existing laden cargo and empty containers to the areas they are most needed," Maersk said in the advisory.

In addition to all East Asian exports, Maersk has halted spot bookings for most shipments that would normally transit the Suez Canal, including European exports to Asia, India, and the Middle East; Middle Eastern and Indian exports to Europe and North America; and North American exports to the Middle East, India, and East Africa, the company said.

Asian exporters were already facing a shortage of empty containers because of record levels of demand from European and North American consumers during the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in heavy port congestion that made it difficult for shipping lines to swiftly return the empty containers to Asia.

Although the container shortages eased in recent weeks, Maersk said in a previous advisory that the Suez incident could result in a 20-30% loss of capacity over the next several weeks. "Beyond the loss of capacity, we expect severe port congestions as ships will be arriving out of their slotted time, leading to adjusted rotations to limit the overall net loss of ocean network capacity," Maersk said.

The 20,000 TEU-capacity Ever Given ran aground in the south segment of the Suez Canal March 23, but was dislodged and refloated March 29. It is currently at anchor in the canal's Great Bitter Lake for inspection. The massive ship closed off all passage of the canal, creating a backlog of nearly 400 vessels that could take a week or more to clear.

Platts Container Rate 1 – North Asia to UK-Continent – was assessed at $9,500/FEU March 30, up from $1,275/FEU a year ago.