The civil war in Sudan is beginning to have a major impact on the international shipping market.
The conflict that broke out on the morning of 15th April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RRF) – with a death toll of over 400 people and 3551 wounded – has in fact made sailing in the African country’s territorial waters so unsafe that a number of carriers have been persuaded to suspend shipments until further notice.
“The current political unrest in Sudan is posing new supply chain challenges,” explains Hapag Lloyd in a service note to customers.”Therefore, if you are shipping both to and from Sudan, please keep in mind that there is a booking stop that has been implemented with immediate effect.”
The German shipping company stresses that any bookings made up to this date will be honoured and shipped to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “We regret the situation in Sudan and we are looking forward to a swift resolution.”
Maersk also announced the interruption of shipments to and from Sudan:”The ongoing conflict continues to have a significant impact on logistics,” reads the customer advisory. “Although vessel operations inside the Port are ongoing, the progress is slow as one of the port’s cranes is not working,”
“The current circumstances mean we have stopped taking new bookings until the situation improves.”The shipping line said they would be discontinuing the acceptance of bookings in Sudan for all shipments until further notice. However, it plans to deliver goods already booked or on route to the country.
Translation by Giles Foster
