CMA CGM, MSC, Milaha Services Affected by Qatar Blockade
A RANGE of container shipping lines will be directly affected by severing of ties between Qatar and the Saudi Arabia-led alliance which include United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, SeaIntelligence chief executive Lars Jensen said.
According to MANA, among the main carriers, he noted that CMA CGM has a China-Middle East service operated with 9,000-10,000 teu vessels calling Qatar in addition to the UAE and Saudi Arabia while Mediterranean Shipping Co’s Falcon service from China to the Middle East was upgraded a few months back to include calls in Qatar in between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
As a result of the diplomatic row, vessels to and from Qatar as well as those operating under the Qatari flag will be barred entry into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
Another operator which will be affected is Milaha, formerly known as Qatar Navigation, according to both Mr Jensen and Alphaliner analyst Tan Hua Joo.
A significant amount of feeder services to and from Qatar is operated by Qatari company Milaha, and five of its 12 containerships fly the Qatar flag. These are feeder services which cater to a number of main lines in the region, risk being banned from usage for the time being.
Earlier this year, MIlaha said it would launch a direct weekly feeder service between Saudi Arabia and India, which will connect Kandla International Container Terminal directly with Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Dammam and Jubail in Saudi Arabia.
However, “it is likely lucky for Hapag Lloyd that the merger process with United Arab Shipping Co has reached a state of completion, as otherwise this could have brought significant problems with UASC formerly being majority owned in Qatar,” Mr Jensen noted.
DP World confirmed that vessels with the flag of Qatar or vessels destined to or arriving from Qatar are not allowed to call at any DP World terminals in the UAE until further notice.