World’s largest container shipping company suspends Novorossiysk bookings after drone attack, Bloomberg reports
MSC is still operating through other Russian ports, including St. Petersburg.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world's largest container shipping company, has temporarily stopped accepting new bookings for shipments to and from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk following an attack on one of its vessels, Bloomberg reported. This suspension began immediately after the incident, as noted in a notice MSC sent to its customers, which Bloomberg reviewed.
The exact timing of the attack remains unclear. MSC operates a fleet with a capacity of 7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), which is the industry standard for measuring container capacity. To put this in perspective, one TEU represents a standard 20-foot-long container. MSC holds the distinction of being the first shipping line in history to achieve this capacity milestone.
The company stated that it is closely monitoring security conditions and advised its customers to reach out to its Russian office for alternative arrangements for imports and exports while maintaining a weekly service through Novorossiysk is currently suspended. Despite scaling back its operations following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, MSC has continued to maintain limited services in the country, including through other ports such as St. Petersburg.
An employee at MSC's St. Petersburg office confirmed to Bloomberg that the Novorossiysk operations have been suspended. MSC has not yet responded to requests for additional information. The Black Sea has been experiencing growing disruptions in shipping due to an increase in attacks on ports and commercial vessels since July.
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