News / Anger as Maersk suspends contract bookings, sparking scramble for capacity

© Sheila Fitzgerald |

Maersk’s decision to “temporarily suspend” spot and short-term contract bookings from Asia following the Suez Canal blockage has left forwarders and NVOCCs scrambling for alternatives.

The carrier said on Tuesday it estimated a loss of capacity across its network of up to 30% “over multiple weeks”, in addition to equipment shortages in Asia.

One UK forwarder The Loadstar spoke to today said although he appreciated the difficulties for Maersk, he was “shocked” it had decided not to honour its short-term contracts.

“Spot is ...