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Ahead of its annual general meeting due to take place in Copenhagen on Wednesday, AP Moller Maersk is facing new questions from activist investors over its role in Israel’s military-linked supply chains.
Corporate accountability group Eko has filed a proposal to Maersk shareholders calling for “concrete disclosures on how the company identifies, assesses, and mitigates risks across these operations – amid mounting evidence that current safeguards are failing”.
The group added that a letter had been sent to Maersk’s board in December from a group of company investors, which warned “of escalating legal, financial, and reputational risks linked to the company’s role in military supply chains connected to Israel’s assault on Gaza”.
The proposal put forward requests that shareholders vote to enhance “public disclosure of the company’s heightened human rights due diligence for military-related logistics and participation in military equipment supply chains”, which would allow investors to “evaluate whether Maersk’s heightened due diligence in military-related logistics is appropriately scoped and effective”.
Eko explained that the proposal would also align with Maersk’s commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) as well as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Specifically, the proposal requests Maersk disclose how it “identifies, assesses and mitigates actual and potential human rights impacts” of military-related cargo; what strategies it has for heightened due diligence for contracts, shipments, and projects with high human-rights risk; how it reviews these strategies as geopolitics moves so quickly; and how it engages wider supply chain stakeholders such as affected communities and regulators.
Maen Hammad, campaigner at Eko said: “Maersk claims its due diligence works – while urging shareholders to vote against even basic oversight.
“This proposal is the bare minimum, and investors should be asking why the company is fighting it.
“Investors, Danish citizens, UN experts, and the world’s highest court are all saying the same thing: stop facilitating Israel’s abuses. Yet the company continues, exposing shareholders to massive risk while profiting from Israel’s occupation and the devastation in Gaza,” he said.
According to a July 2025 report, From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Maersk was named as key actor in these supply chains: “Shipping companies such as the Danish AP Moller-Maersk transport components, parts, weapons and raw materials, sustaining a steady flow of United States-supplied military equipment post-October 2023.”
A statement from Eko added: “Maersk’s own risk disclosures identify the possibility of being hit by a large compliance case as a key risk, underscoring potential shareholder exposure if due-diligence gaps persist.”
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