The world's leading container shipping company MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. has suspended the acceptance of new orders to and from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, effective immediately, after one of its vessels was hit by a drone, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
The decision was made following the recent attack on the MSC ULSAN III while it was heading to Novorossiysk, according to an MSC customer notice seen by Bloomberg. The company did not specify when the incident occurred.
MSC said it is closely monitoring the situation, and customers are advised to contact its Russian agency for information about possible logistical alternatives for imports and exports until conditions allow the resumption of regular weekly services from the Black Sea port.
The company, like other international container lines, has limited its operations in Russia since 2022 amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
MSC continues to operate from other Russian ports, including St. Petersburg in the northwest of the country. An employee of the company's St. Petersburg office confirmed to Bloomberg that operations in Novorossiysk are currently suspended.
As the publication writes, since July, Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks in the Black Sea, significantly disrupting grain exports from both countries and driving wheat prices to a three-year high. The attacks have also sharply reduced shipping in the Black and Azov seas, affecting steel and coal exports from Russia, the publication notes.