Although the Suez Canal has resumed traffic, there are still hundreds of ships waiting.

The interruption of the canal may have a chain reaction in early April: shipping schedule delays, skyrocketing freight rates, shortage of containers at the port of departure, new congestion in European destination ports, etc., will also prompt shipping companies to suspend and skip passively or actively. Hong Kong price increases.

The following shipping companies have issued notices:

Maersk: Capacity will drop by 30% in recent weeks, and export bookings in some regions will be suspended!

Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, said on Tuesday that the blockage of the Suez Canal and the large number of waiting ships outside the canal may cause capacity to drop by 20% to 30% in the next few weeks. He also pointed out that it may take up to a week for many waiting ships to pass through the canal.

"At present, we estimate that the delay may affect 20% to 30% of sea freight capacity in the next few weeks, depending on market dynamics, and we will develop contingency plans." A Maersk spokesperson said.

"The canal has been blocked for six days, so it will take at least six days to clear the waiting ships. This will put further pressure on capacity, and there will be queues in Mediterranean and European ports."

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Suspend some short-term export bookings in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and other places!

In view of the chain reaction brought about by this, Maersk decided to suspend short-term online booking through the Spot booking platform, and at the same time suspend short-term contract bookings this week and in some areas in the near future.

Maersk announcement

Suspension of short-term booking services include:

Asian export business: Due to the expected shortage of shipping capacity and containers, short-term bookings for Asian exports to the world have been suspended.

Middle East India-Pakistan export business: Suspend the Middle East India-Pakistan export to Europe, North Africa, the east coast of North America, and short-term bookings from the Mediterranean to West Africa and Latin America.

European export business: Suspend short-term bookings for European exports to Asia, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Oceania.

North American export business: Suspend short-term bookings for North American exports to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and East Africa.

Latin America export business: Suspend short-term bookings from the east coast of South America to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Asia via the Mediterranean, as well as the Central American region and the west coast of South America to the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Africa export business: Suspend short-term bookings from East Africa to Europe and West Africa via the Mediterranean to Asia, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Maersk emphasized that this adjustment is only temporary, so that existing goods and empty containers can be quickly transported to areas where they are most needed.

"In addition to the decline in capacity, the Suez Canal blockage incident will also cause serious port congestion. Because the ship call has missed the previous window period, port call adjustments are needed to reduce the loss of capacity. Our current job is to actively seek out shipping for customers. The alternative is to rebuild a stable network and keep information transparent.” Maersk added.