Ukraine invasion: Russian aggression snarls global shipping routes, with container pile-ups and higher freight costs likely
- Conflict in Ukraine, a country at the nexus of Europe and Asia, is weighing on ocean traffic between the two continents
- Biggest potential impact on shipping could come from the redirection of rail and air transport on the Asia-Europe route
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine snarls regional logistics and rattles the global commodity market, ripples are spilling over into container shipping, resulting in more delays, less capacity and higher costs, according to experts.
The conflict in Ukraine, a country at the nexus of Europe and Asia, is weighing on ocean traffic between the two continents in particular, they said.
Though the world’s major shipping routes do not pass near Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, which have been under attack or closed, some commercial vessels have been hit by missiles and congestion is building in the region as ships divert from their original paths.
These developments could increase volumes at other regional ports and are already resulting in pile-ups
Top ocean carriers – including Maersk and CMA CGM – have suspended new bookings to and from Russia.