Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipper, has ceased all bookings on its North Europe-to-Asia lanes amid a backlog of shipments that has European terminals close to full capacity.
“At the moment, terminal density at some ports is nearing yard capacity,” Maersk Line said in a statement.
The backlog, the aftermath of shipment cancellations after the Chinese New Year and service cuts by other lines, may not clear up till early May, according to the company, the container shipping arm of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk.
Maersk said: “Very low westbound demand from Asia after the Chinese New Year prompted several carriers to cancel multiple westbound sailings and, in turn, eastbound sailings. This has reached an unprecedented level necessitating a booking stop to prevent escalation of the backlog.”
The busier Asia-to-Europe bookings, including Maersk Line’s Daily Maersk service, are not affected by the booking halt, the Copenhagen-based shipping line added.
“The booking stop is temporary, and we are working to clear it as soon as possible so that we can resume booking acceptance as usual,” Maersk said. “We are implementing this complete booking stop to ensure we prioritize and deliver on the bookings we have already accepted.”
