Shipping group Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) said on Monday it was considering suspending all container bookings in and out of Russia in response to Western economic sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
The company said it was closely monitoring the fast-evolving sanctions and restrictions imposed against Russia, and making preparations to comply with them.
"Our preparations include a possible suspension of Maersk bookings to and from Russia on ocean and inland," Maersk said in a statement.
Russia's assault on its neighbour is the biggest state-to-state invasion in Europe since World War Two.
In a coordinated response, the United States, European countries, and others have made the unusual move of targeting Russia's central bank with financial sanctions and put limits on cross-border transactions by the country's largest lenders.
Maersk, which handles roughly one in six containers shipped worldwide, said it was focusing on safeguarding types of containers and cold chain operations that "include important goods such as groceries and pharmaceuticals."
Maersk said limitations to operations over Russian air space would impact its air services. A spokesperson declined to elaborate on the possible measures and said the company expects to provide further information later on Monday.
The company last year generated roughly 2.5% of its total revenue from Russia. It operates container shipping routes to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, and to Vladivostok and Vostochny on Russia's east coast.
Maersk has been active in Russia since 1992.
Last week, the company halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and has shut its main office in Odessa on the Black Sea coast. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation," designed not to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.
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