Evergreen and OOCL suspend Qatar shipping services for now

LONDON - 7 June 2017: Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong's OOCL said on Wednesday they had suspended shipping services to Qatar in another sign of trade pressure on the state after Arab states severed diplomatic ties this week.

Evergreen, the world's no.6 container shipping line, said in a statement that "in light of the blockade imposed on Qatar" it had suspended services until further notice.

OOCL, the world's no. 7 carrier, said "in response to the current political climate in the region, all OOCL booking to/from Qatar is suspended until further notice".

Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping line, said on Tuesday it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali. Maersk added that it was trying to find alternative routes.

Several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, cut ties with the Gulf state on Monday over what they say is Qatar's support for terrorism, an accusation Qatar vehemently denies.