Liner giant AP Moller-Maersk says it has stopped taking new bookings of goods for Sudan due to the ongoing clashes in the country.
The Danish company added in a statement that it is monitoring the situation and looking for solutions to stabilise its supply chain services there.
The port of Port Sudan has remained open.
Ambrey has confirmed with vessels that are currently in port that operations have continued with “minimal to no issues”.
MarineTraffic lists 10 ships in the port, mostly cargo vessels, but also a tanker and Maersk’s own 2,890-teu sub-panamax Maersk Patras (built 1998), which is due to head to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on 1 May.
Another five ships are scheduled to make a call there.
No updates have yet been provided on bookings by other big players such as CMA CGM or MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.
“These current circumstances mean that we have stopped taking new bookings for now until the situation improves,” Maersk said.
Security company Ambrey has identified several foreign warships sailing to Sudan, most likely to provide security for civilians departing the country via sea routes.
Ambrey supporting evacuations
There were no vessel calls on Monday, against four at the same time last year, the company added.
Ambrey has supported the extraction of civilians from Port Sudan using its own assets in the Red Sea. The company remains on standby to provide further assistance.
United Nations agencies report at least 427 people have been killed in fighting between the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force.
Ambrey said it assesses the security situation as likely, in the short term, to remain highly dynamic as the conflict intensity is expected to increase in the coming days and weeks.
