COPENHAGEN – Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping groups, said on Friday it had temporarily suspended two services linking the Middle East to Asia and Europe as the Iran conflict continues to disrupt global supply chains.
The Danish group said in a statement that it would suspend its FM1 service, which connects the Far East and the Middle East, and its ME11 service, which connects the Middle East and Europe.
“This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of our employees and vessels while minimizing disruption to operations across our broader network,” Maersk said in an advisory to customers.
Tensions in the Middle East soared on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack on Iran in decades in an operation to kill Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The crisis has left 147 container ships stuck in the Gulf, leading to port congestion and higher freight rates, with ripples across global supply chains from Asia to Europe, according to cargo analysis firm Zeneta.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto; Editing by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik)
