Although MSC, the Italian shipping company headquartered in Geneva, announced the suspension of all maritime container traffic to and from Russia, they intend to continue making ship calls to the ports of the aggressor country.
Two maritime container transportation market operators informed CFTS about the position of MSC. According to the one person interviewed, who is well aware of the state of affairs in the market, MSC only pretended to stop cooperation with the Russian Federation, but in fact they are planning to open a new service under the pretext of delivering food cargo in a couple of days.
The sources in the market reassure that this information is 100% reliable. CFTS contacted MSC to either confirm or deny it.
In the announcement left on the main website on March 1, Mediterranean Shipping Company states to temporarily freeze the delivery of all cargo orders to/from Russia, including the ports of the Baltic, Black Sea and the Far East starting from March 1. At the same time, MSC will continue accepting delivery orders of essentials such as food, medical equipment and humanitarian goods. The company declared: "MSC is closely following government recommendations for new sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 and is carrying out maritime and inland transportation to and from Russia in full compliance with the international sanctions measures applicable to it,".
We remind, as previously stated, the world's largest shipping companies, such as Maersk, Ocean Network Express, Hapag Lloyd, MSC, suspend their work on the Russian market due to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on the aggressor country.
In January, this year, it became known that MSC overtook Maersk in the rating in terms of the total capacity of the operating fleet. MSC's total fleet capacity is currently 4,284,728 TEU, which is 1,888 TEU more than Maersk’. Thus, the shares of companies in the global container transportation market have become equal and account for 17% each.
